PULLMAN, Wash. — After a poor defensive showing against Boise State this week, Washington State coach Tony Bennett challenged his team to establish an identity.

Last night, they did, as a balanced offense matched with a tenacious defense.

"We were challenged on defense and that's what we came out to do," said Aron Baynes, who had 12 points and eight rebounds to lead No. 9 Washington State to a 74-43 rout of Idaho.

Baynes was one of six Cougars to score in double figures in a physical game with a scrappy but outmanned Idaho of the Western Athletic Conference.

"When you have six guys in double figures, you really like that," Bennett said. "I thought we took the right shots, for the most part. We came out in the second half and defended well and extended the lead.

"We scored in a variety of ways, which I always like to see," Bennett said.

'Iolani alum Derrick Low, scoreless in the first half because of fouls, scored 12 points, and Robbie Cowgill, Taylor Rochestie, Kyle Weaver and Daven Harmeling each had 10 for the Pac-10 Conference Cougars (3-0), who jumped out to an 8-0 lead and never trailed.

WSU took a 36-24 lead at the half and hit 24 of 47 shots from the field in the game. Idaho shot 35.2 percent from the floor (19 for 54) and was successful on just 1 of 6 free-throw tries.

Jordan Brooks led Idaho (1-2) with 14 points and five rebounds.

WSU's defense held the Vandals scoreless for the first 6 minutes and Idaho went scoreless for large chunks of the game.

The Cougars were the second Top 25 team Idaho played this week. The Vandals lost to No. 14 Gonzaga, 80-43, on Tuesday.

Brooks, who came to Idaho after playing on two junior college championship teams, said the Cougars appeared to be a bit better than Gonzaga.

"I think WSU is a little tighter. They know how to get their shots. They know who to get the ball to," he said.

The Cougars have dominated the cross-border series in recent years, winning five straight and 10 of the last 11 meetings. Idaho last won, 62-58, in the 2002-03. The Cougars lead the all-time series 156-107.

"Idaho, I'll say this about them, they're very scrappy and physical," Bennett said.

ELSEWHERE

No. 3 Memphis 81, Connecticut 70: Chris Douglas-Roberts scored a career-high 33 points and the Tigers (4-0), after racing out to a big early lead, held on to beat the Huskies (3-1) in the championship game of the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic at New York. Freshman sensation Derrick Rose added a career-high 24 points and the Tigers opened an early 15-point lead but found themselves trailing by one at the half. Douglas-Roberts, the tournament MVP, broke open a close game during a decisive second-half run, hitting a pair of free throws with the game knotted at 60 and less than nine minutes to play. That set off a 16-5 spurt capped by his jumper with 3:55 left, effectively putting the game out of reach. A.J. Price scored 23 to lead Connecticut (3-1).

No. 7 Tennessee 89, Prairie View A&M: 75: Tyler Smith scored 15 points, Chris Lofton added 14 and the Vols (3-0) beat the Panthers (1-2) in the second round of the StubHub Legends Classic at Knoxville, Tenn. Ramar Smith added 10 points for Tennessee, which advanced to the semifinals against West Virginia on Nov. 23. Aaron Smith led the Panthers with 21 points, hitting 5 of 9 from 3-point range.

No. 16 Texas 73, UC Davis 42: A.J. Abrams scored 21 points and the Longhorns (2-0) coasted to a win over the Aggies (1-2) at Austin, Texas. Abrams found his 3-point shooting touch early and had 12 points by halftime for the Longhorns. Shane Hanson led UC Davis, playing its first season as a full-fledged Division I program, with 12 points.

Providence 67, No. 18 Arkansas 51: Brian McKenzie scored 18 points and Geoffrey McDermott added 15, leading the Friars (2-0) over the Razorbacks (2-1) at the Puerto Rico Tip-Off at San Juan, Puerto Rico. The Friars scored 34 points off turnovers, adding 14 in the paint. Patrick Beverley led the Razorbacks with 14 points.

WAC MEN

San Jose St. 64, Appalachian St. 62: Justin Graham made a short jumper with 1 second left to lead the WAC's Spartans (2-0) over the Mountaineers (1-2) on the second day of the First Shot Exempt Tournament at Murfreesboro, Tenn. Graham scored 13 points to top a balanced scoring attack for the Spartans. Appalachian State had tied the game 62-62 with 44 seconds left on two free throws by Ryann Abraham. The Mountaineers were led by Kellen Brand with 18 points.

Louisiana Tech 64, Louisiana-Lafayette 56: Four Louisiana Tech players scored in double figures and the WAC's Bulldogs (1-1) used a 9-2 run with 2:38 remaining in the game to help them defeat the Ragin' Cajuns (1-1) at Ruston, La. Keith Smith paced the Bulldogs with 14 points. Louisiana-Lafayette's Elijah Millsap led all players with 15 points and 10 rebounds.

Montana State 86, Boise State 84: Casey Durham hit the game-winning jumper with three seconds remaining to lift the Bobcats (2-1) past the WAC's Broncos (1-2) at Bozeman, Mont. Bobby Howard poured in 27 points for Montana State. Matt Bauscher tallied 20 points to lead Boise State.

TOP 25 WOMEN

No. 3 Maryland 75, No. 23 Notre Dame 59: Laura Harper had 17 points and 13 rebounds, and the Terrapins (4-0) tied a school record with 12 3-pointers in a rout of the Fighting Irish (2-1) that thrust Maryland into the championship game of the Preseason WNIT at College Park, Md. Kristi Toliver scored 25 points — five 3-pointers — for Maryland, which will play fourth-ranked LSU tomorrow for the title. The 12 treys (on 20 attempts) tied the Maryland record set Dec. 21, 2006, against UNC-Greensboro. Charel Allen led Notre Dame with 16 points.

No. 6 Rutgers 62, Creighton 43: Epiphanny Prince scored eight of her 12 points during a pivotal second-half run to help the Scarlet Knights (1-1) beat the Bluejays (1-1) at Piscataway, N.J. Essence Carson had 12 points and four assists, and Rashidat Junaid added 10 points for the Scarlet Knights. Sara Cain and Ally Thrall each scored 10 points for Creighton.

No. 7 North Carolina 92, Coppin State 63: Reserve Jessica Breland scored a career-high 19 points in the Tar Heels' (4-0) rout over the Eagles (2-2) at Chapel Hill, N.C. Latoya Pringle added 15 and Rashanda McCants 13 for North Carolina (4-0) in the Women's National Invitational Championship. Rashida Suber scored 30 points to lead Coppin State.

No. 8 Georgia 57, Temple 51: Ashley Houts had 12 points and six assists, and the Bulldogs (3-0) held the Owls (1-1) scoreless over the final 4:41 at Athens, Ga. Ashley Morris led Temple with 21 points.

No. 19 West Virginia 81, St. Francis 29: Yinka Sanni had 14 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Mountaineers (2-0) over the Red Flash (1-2) at Morgantown, W.Va.

No. 24 DePaul 79, No. 18 Florida St. 68: Natasha Williams made all 10 of her shots and had 23 points, and Missy Mitidiero made a career-high six 3-pointers as the Blue Demons (3-0) upset the Seminoles (2-1) at Chicago.