USC men’s basketball built a powerful first-half lead behind a double-double from sophomore forward Jacob Cofie, then survived a second-half push from Washington State to secure the Trojans’ 10th win of the season in a 68-61 victory on Sunday afternoon.
Cofie was lights out from the tip, finishing with 21 points and 10 rebounds on 9-of-12 shooting. He dunked for USC’s first basket of the game and was the focal point of the offense.
”I didn’t have a good game like last game or the previous game, so I knew, like no doubt, I had to ball out today,” Cofie said.
USC’s strongest stretch of play came in the first half when the Trojans went on a 13-0 run to jump to a 24-11 lead. During that time period, Washington State struggled with fouling. The Cougars fouled 29 times throughout the game, giving USC 34 free throw attempts.
“It’s a philosophy,” Coach Eric Musselman said on getting fouled. “We talk about it daily, we talk about it in every huddle, about putting pressure on the rim, drawing free throws attempted, and getting in the bonus early.”
USC was up by 16 points late in the first half, but the Cougars cut that deficit to seven by going on a 9-0 run to close out the first half. That effort was led by junior forward Rihards Vavers, who scored 13 points, while junior guard Jerone Morton and junior forward Eemeli Yalaho added 10 points.
USC’s 3-point shot never found rhythm, the team only hit one 3-pointer on 13 attempts, forcing the Trojans to rely heavily on scoring in the paint and drawing contact to get sent to the free-throw line.
Graduate guard Chad Baker-Mazara struggled from the field, only shooting 30.8%, but he converted on all 11 of his free throw attempts, bringing his point total to 19 along with five assists. Baker-Mazara also had the biggest moment in the game: a chase-down block in transition late in the second half, a move that erupted the crowd.
“He’s not known as a shot blocker,” Musselman said. “It’s happened two or three times this year where we’re inside the last three minutes, and he’s made a crucial block.”
Senior forward Ezra Ausar scored 13 points and drew contact throughout the game, going to the charity stripe 11 times. He also came up with an important and-one early in the second half to stop Washington State’s run that cut the deficit to one.
In the final minutes of the game, USC relied on execution to close it out. Cofie grabbed key rebounds and hit big free throws, while junior guard Jordan Marsh, who scored eight points with five assists, also knocked down important free throws. Ausar then sealed the deal with free throws after being fouled.
This victory was unlike most for the Trojans this season. It was the first time all year USC won without scoring more than 70 points. The game was won through the defensive effort and the ability to get to the free throw line.
“I would hope that we’re ranked again tomorrow,” Musselman said. “We won two games this week, and we were just outside the top 25. I hope we can play well next week and we can be ranked going into the holidays.”
Ausar also hopes to be ranked.
“I’ve never been ranked in college before,” Ausar said. “It matters to me because I think it seals your position, where you stand statistically.”
USC now has two non-conference games remaining. The next one will be on Dec. 17 against UTSA, before closing out non-conference play on Dec. 21 against Brown.