PULLMAN — CJ Elleby scored 25 points and had 11 rebounds for his first double-double of the season to lead Washington State to an 87-73 victory over Florida A&M on Thursday night.
Elleby also had three assists and shot 10 of 15 for the game to lead the Cougars to their fourth straight win. Jeff Pollard added 12 points and Marvin Cannon scored 11 points and had eight rebounds for the Cougars (7-4).
“We were really locked in defensively and did a good job of taking them out of their sets,” WSU coach Kyle Smith said. “CJ was great all around. He was talking right and trying to lead. Ever since the Idaho game, he has really stepped up on the court as far as taking pride in defending, rebounding and when he shoots it like that, really efficiently, it’s great.”
Washington State led for almost the entire game, shooting 52.5% and outrebounding Florida A&M 46-24. The Cougar bench outscored the Rattlers bench 34-18.
Florida A&M (0-9) trailed 41-24 at the end of the first half. The Rattlers got within 11 with 3:19 remaining in the second but were unable to close the gap in a game where they were overmatched on both ends of the court. Washington State shot 63% in the second half.
M.J. Randolph had 21 points for the Rattlers.
Elleby entered this game ranked fourth in the Pac-12 in scoring at 20.1 points per game and has scored in double figures in all 11 games this season.
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