In the final minutes of an intense conference game against Washington State (11-5, 2-3), USC men’s basketball (8-8, 2-3) had a chance to win, yet a 9-0 run from the Cougars in the last two minutes sealed a 72-64 victory for Washington Wednesday night.
“We got to get on the right side of winning,” fifth-year guard Boogie Ellis said. “No pressure, we just got to go win.”
Cougars senior forward Isaac Jones notched his fourth double-double of the season with a game-high 26 points and 11 rebounds.
Ellis scored a team-high 18 points and had four rebounds while battling a hamstring injury for most of the game.
USC senior forward DJ Rodman, who transferred from Washington State, scored eight points and grabbed eight rebounds.
“People don’t get the opportunity to play against their old school,” Rodman said. “I had fun competing with my friends from there.”
Availability was the night’s story for the Trojans, as several key players were dealing with injuries. Two hours before the game, Enfield discovered that starting junior center Joshua Morgan was out of tonight’s game due to an illness, causing a shift in the starting lineup. Sophomore center Vince Iwuchukwu got the green light to replace Morgan.
The Trojans felt Morgan’s absence, as the Cougars attacked the paint effectively, scoring 34 points in the paint on the night.
In addition, Collier left the game in the second half after a bang-bang play, resulting in a right-hand injury that kept him out for the rest of the contest. Although Collier’s backcourt partner, Ellis, played the whole game, he could be seen visibly limping in and out of possessions.
The Trojans entered the game riding a two-game win streak, looking to make it three against Washington State. However, the Trojans’ performance in the first half did not mirror that statement.
In what seems to be an ongoing issue for the Trojans, another poor shooting night from the field had them trailing by one going into halftime. In the first half, the Trojans shot 32% from the field, barely finding any rhythm from three.
“I thought we were playing well enough offensively in the first half to have a six, eight or ten-point lead,” Enfield said. “We just didn’t shoot the ball well.”
While Washington State did not perform much better in the first half, the Cougars benefited heavily from junior forward Jaylen Wells’ shooting from beyond the arc. Wells was nearly perfect from three, converting on 3-of-4 beyond the arc, and he ended the first half with a last-second layup to put the Cougars up one heading into halftime, 29-28.
“Give credit to them; they defended us well and took us out of our game,” Rodman said.
After a sluggish first half from both squads, each found their rhythm, assembling strings of runs. Collier was aggressive in the second half, scoring six early points to start, getting into the paint, and finishing around the rim. However, his night would end with 12:12 left in the second half.
“It hurts not to have him out there in those final minutes,” Ellis said.
The second half was a back-and-forth battle with the Trojans and Cougars trading buckets. The Cougars’ Jones started to dominate the inside, scoring at will, scoring 17 of his 26 points in the second half.
On the other end, Ellis fought heavily, hitting multiple tough shots while Rodman came alive, converting two big threes to keep the Trojans in the game.
“[Ellis] is such a great offensive player, but when you’re injured and you play that many minutes, it takes a toll on your body,” Enfield said.
Yet, in the end, the season-long defensive issues for the Trojans showed their face. The Cougars outscored the Trojans 13-6 in the final five minutes of play. Wells and Jones continued to be the key factors in helping secure the Cougars’ first win in Galen since 2015. The win marked only the second time Washington State has beaten USC in their last 10 matchups.
“I feel like we have been pretty bad defensively. I feel like defense creates offense. We get stops, we’re allowed to play in transition and play faster, and that’s when we are at our best.” Ellis said. “When we are talking the ball out the net, it slows us down.”
The Trojans hit the road for a three-game stretch starting this weekend. USC begins the road trip at the Colorado Buffaloes on Saturday at 7 p.m.