WASHINGTON State produced a stirring road performance to stun Arizona, as the former claimed a historic 13-point win at McKale Center on the weekend.

The victors had not defeated a top five opponent on the road in 122 years, so the emphatic celebrations on Saturday were justified, given the history stacked against the Cougars at the time.

Instead of being overwhelmed by the odds it faced, Washington State played with flair and confidence in one of the nation’s most daunting arenas, and instead delivered the knockout blow to send Wildcats’ fans home early.

The roars were thunderous from the Cougars’ locker room at the end of the game, as the team celebrated a season-defining upset over one of the highest ranked schools in the country.

Mouhamed Gueye was the catalyst for the result, as the big man controlled things in the interior and ensure the Cougars got ascendancy on the interior over the opposition. Stuffing the stat sheet, Gueye finished the match with 24 points and 14 rebounds in a clear best-on display. He set the tone from the get go with his physicality in the low block and was a massive reason for his side getting the win.

Also impressing in the win were Jabe Mullins (13 points), Justin Powell (12 points) and DJ Rodman (11 points), as the trio hurt the opposition from behind the arc. Firing from downtown, they combined for shooting numbers of 12/28 from three-point territory, often chiming in for a handy basket whenever the opposition looked to make a run.

Speaking after the game, Cougars coach Kyle Smith was ecstatic about finally getting his first win at the venue in three attempts.

“You’re no different than the players – you’ve got to dream it to come true,” Smith said. “You start thinking about quieting the crowd and in your mind you go possession by possession. I did look up and see people filing out with 1:12 left and I was like, focus, focus, a lot of things can happen. And we were able to hang on.”

The Wildcats were simply suffocated by the physical defence of the opposition, who suffocated one of the nation’s most potent offences. Washington State forced Arizona into taking bad shots, which was reflected in the home side’s shooting percentages at the final buzzer (32 per cent from the field).

On one positive note for the Wildcats, Azoulas Tubelis led all comers on the stat sheet with a whopping double-double of 29 points and 14 rebounds, but simply did not have enough help from his teammates.

Arizona now move to 14-2 after sustaining their second loss of the season, while the Cougars have found a pulse to jump up to 7-10.