POCATELLO, Idaho — Washington State coach Tony Bennett has been waiting all season for his team to start games strong on offense and defense.

The No. 7 Cougars finally got it done on both ends of the court yesterday afternoon.

Led by Derrick Low's 16-first half points and a stifling defense, the Cougars (11-0) jumped to a commanding early lead and coasted the rest of the way in beating Idaho State, 75-45.

"We've struggled some times to start," Bennett said. "We haven't been flying out of the gates too many times this year. But I thought we distanced ourselves early today and it gave us a cushion."

The performances of Low, a 2004 'Iolani School graduate from Honolulu, and Kyle Weaver certainly helped.

Low finished with 20 points, but his accuracy from the perimeter early helped the Cougars twice build 16-point leads in the first half.

After missing his first jumper, Low made his next five 3-pointers, the final one coming at the 5:51 mark to put the Cougars up 28-12.

"It's always good for a shooter to knock down his first few shots," said Low, who was 6-of-12. "Because you get that confidence and you tend to be a little more aggressive. And you also look for your shot a little more."

Weaver's turn came in the second half, when he scored seven of the Cougars' first 13 points to open the half and help put the game out of reach.

Weaver finished with 18 points, and his 3-pointer with 16:03 left put the Cougars up 47-23. The Bengals (2-8) failed to get much closer the rest of the way.

Caleb Forrest chipped in 11 points and Taylor Rochestie added nine points and a game-high eight assists for Washington State. The team played without forward Daven Harmeling, who fractured his right thumb in practice Friday and did not make the trip to Idaho. Harmeling, who averages 6.4 points per game but gives the Cougars a big inside presence, is out indefinitely, team officials said.

The victory brought the Cougars within one game of tying the best season-opening start in school history, a 12-0 run by the 1991-92 team. The Cougars can match that mark when they host North Carolina A&T on Dec. 28, before they begin conference play with three straight road games.

"It was important for us to play solid," said Bennett. "We know we're not the kind of team that is going to blow people away if we're not playing at a high level. We know we can't take anyone lightly."

NO. 22 MIAMI 95, NORTH CAROLINA A&T 64

CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Jack McClinton scored 17 points as the Hurricanes had no trouble in beating the Aggies (5-7) to stretch their season-opening winning streak to 12 games.

James Dews and Raymond Hicks each finished with 16 points for the Hurricanes, who are two games shy of the school record for victories to open a season set in 2001-02.

The Hurricanes opened the game on a 17-0 run in the first 5:07 and were never threatened. They shot a season-high 58 percent from the field to remain one of nine unbeaten Division I teams.

ELSEWHERE

New Mexico 62, Weber State 32: J.R. Giddens scored eight of his game-high 18 points in a game-opening 15-0 run and the Lobos (11-2) never looked back in routing the Wildcats (4-7) at Albuquerque, N.M.

The Wildcats' 32 points tied the record for the fewest points scored in "The Pit" as New Mexico won its fourth straight game.

New Mexico next plays at Hawai'i on Thursday. The Lobos beat the Rainbows, 89-60, Nov. 21 in Albuquerque.

Wake Forest 77, Virginia Tech 75: Ishmael Smith scored 18 points, including a hanging jumper with 0.6 seconds left, as the Demon Deacons (8-3, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) erased an eight-point deficit in the final 82 seconds to beat the Hokies (6-5, 0-1) at Winston-Salem, N.C.

Make a difference. Donate to The Advertiser Christmas Fund.