USC men’s basketball couldn’t extend its win streak from last week’s crosstown victory over UCLA, falling 75-72 to the Washington State Cougars in a dramatic fashion on Thursday night.
Riding the momentum from their win over the Bruins, which snapped the Trojans’ longest road losing streak in nine years, USC stormed out the gates in a rare leap day game with an 8-2 run.
The team’s offense has improved in recent games after freshman guard Isaish Collier’s return from injury. USC has averaged 74.3 points over their last six contests, an improvement from their previous six-game stretch, during which they averaged only 62.5 points.
Collier has posted just under 18 points per game since returning from a hand injury that sidelined him for four weeks at the beginning of January. But the former No. 1 recruit turned on the jets right away, scoring eight of the first 12 Trojan points. The freshman would end up with a game-high 24 points, shooting 53% from the field.
Nonetheless, USC was well aware they were entering a Cougars’ den, as Washington State entered the game boasting a near-perfect 13-1 record at home this season. But the Trojans held the historical advantage, leading the all-time series 82-50 and winning 13 of their last 15 matchups.
USC’s success this season has hinged on shooting. The team is 10-4 when posting a higher shooting percentage than their opponents and just 1-12 in the opposite case. But the trend didn’t hold true in the Trojans’ loss, where the team shot a strong 52% from the field to Washington State’s 50%.
On top of a good shooting percentage, the Trojans racked up eight steals in the first half alone, already surpassing their season average of 7.1 steals per game.
Washington State averaged 10.5 turnovers per game heading into the matchup and committed a staggering 14 turnovers. This wasn’t entirely surprising though, as the USC starting lineup included two former Pac-12 All-Defensive Team players in junior guard Kobe Johnson and senior forward Joshua Morgan.
The Trojans effectively slowed down Washington State’s star senior forward Isaac Jones, who had previously torched USC for 26 points in a win earlier this season. Jones was held to six points on just three shot attempts.
“We had a really good game plan on Isaac Jones,” head coach Andy Enfield said. “He dominated us in the first game with 26 [points] and 11 [rebounds]. He only had six points and four turnovers [this game], we did an outstanding job as a team.”
USC dominated inside the paint and finished with a 26-point advantage in that category, outscoring Washington State 46 to 20 around the rim.
However, the focus on interior defense came with a cost and the Trojans paid it in full.
Despite outplaying Washington State per many statistics, the Cougars’ 10 3-pointers compared to USC’s two changed the math. The Cougars snatched their first lead with just two minutes remaining behind a three from freshman guard Isaiah Watts on the right wing.
Watts’ go-ahead three came as the Cougars had found their hot hand late in the second half. Watts shot 5-for-6 from deep and totaled a career-high 18 points. Senior forward Andrej Jakimovski also hit four 3-pointers on 40% accuracy.
“We mixed up man and zone, left the 3-point shooters [open],” Enfield said. “Too many threes in the second half, two guys made nine [3-pointers] between the two of them, and there has to be a sense of urgency.”
Fifth-year guard Boogie Ellis had a quiet night after leading the Trojans in scoring the previous week. The veteran only managed to contribute five points and committed a critical turnover in the final minute.
“The margin of error at this level is very small and every possession counts,” Enfield said. “You have to defend, you have to rebound and you have to execute. We made some mistakes, and then we got passive at the wrong time in the last minute and a half.”
Freshman guard Bronny James and senior forward Joshua Morgan struggled with personal fouls. James picked up three fouls in just four minutes of play, which limited him to only 12 total minutes of action. Morgan committed four personal fouls himself and played just 18 minutes.
The lead yo-yoed back and forth after Washington State’s late 3-point barrage, and the Cougars managed to hold onto their slim advantage down the stretch. USC had two 3-point shot attempts to tie the game at 75-75 but missed both, suffering yet another defeat.
The Trojans are now 11-17 overall and 5-12 in the Pac-12. They will play their final road game of the season against Washington on Saturday at 1 p.m.