Nov. 28, 2008

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) - Klay Thompson scored 19 points and had 10 rebounds as Washington State cruised to a 63-52 victory over Mississippi State in the opening game of the Legends Classic on Friday night.

Aron Baynes added 17 for the Cougars (5-0), who advanced to Saturday's championship game. They will play the winner of the Pittsburgh-Texas Tech game, which was played later Friday night.

Washington State took command early on and went ahead for good on Nikola Koprivica's 3-pointer with 7:16 left in the first half. They led 35-26 at the break, and then held double-digit leads for most of the second half.

Kodi Augustus, Barry Stewart and Romero Osby each scored 10 points for the Bulldogs (5-1), who made just 32 percent of their shots and committed 20 turnovers.