The Washington State Cougars gave USC all they could handle in Los Angeles, but when it came down to crunch time, the Trojans made just enough plays-and just enough free throws-to escape with a 68-61 win. For WSU, it’s another tough pill to swallow, marking their fifth straight loss despite showing clear signs of growth.
Now sitting at 3-8, the Cougars showed resilience after a rocky start, battling back from a 16-point first-half deficit to make things interesting late. But in the end, the Trojans’ ability to get to the free throw line-and convert-was the difference in a game that saw both teams struggle to find offensive rhythm.
One of the more surprising developments came before tipoff, as freshman Ace Glass was moved out of the starting lineup for the first time since his breakout 26-point performance off the bench against Chaminade. His spark was missing this time around-Glass managed just three points on 1-of-7 shooting in 23 minutes off the bench.
Early on, neither team could get much going offensively. USC finally broke through with a 15-0 run midway through the first half, and for a moment, it looked like the game might get away from WSU. The Cougars were their own worst enemy during that stretch, coughing up the ball 11 times in the first half and failing to shoot efficiently enough to compensate.
But just when it looked like USC might cruise, Emmanuel Ugbo buried a three to stop the bleeding and end a cold stretch from deep for WSU. That shot snapped a run of eight straight missed threes and sparked a bit of momentum.
USC pushed the lead to 16 again, but then their offense went ice cold, missing their final six shots of the half. WSU capitalized with a 9-0 run heading into halftime, trimming the deficit to seven.
Coming out of the break, Eemeli Yalaho kept the run going with a jumper, and just like that, it was an 11-0 burst. USC finally stopped the bleeding with a free throw from Ezra Ausar, but WSU kept coming.
Jerone Morton scored on a drive, and Rihards Vavers knocked down a triple to cut the lead to one. From that point on, the Cougars stayed within striking distance, answering every USC push with a response of their own and keeping the Trojans from ever rebuilding a double-digit lead.
The game’s pivotal moment came with just under 90 seconds left. After forcing a turnover, Vavers led the break and found Adria Rodriguez streaking to the rim.
Rodriguez went up for what looked like a momentum-shifting layup, but USC’s Chad Baker-Mazara had other plans-soaring in from behind to pin the shot off the glass for a statement block. The Trojans took that energy to the other end and calmly knocked down two more free throws-numbers 23 and 24 on the night-to put the game out of reach.
Despite the loss, WSU’s second-half effort was impressive. They turned the ball over just twice after the break, scored at a clip of 1.094 points per possession, and held a normally efficient USC team to just 1-of-7 from three in the second half.
But the free throw disparity loomed large. USC scored 27 of their 68 points at the line-nearly 40% of their total offense-while WSU simply couldn’t match that production.
Vavers led the Cougars with 13 points in a balanced but limited offensive outing. And while the result was another notch in the loss column, this was one of WSU’s more complete performances against a strong opponent. The Cougars showed fight, discipline, and flashes of what they can be when they take care of the ball and defend with intensity.
Next up, WSU wraps up non-conference play with a pair of games: a neutral-site matchup against Eastern Washington in Spokane on Wednesday, followed by a home tilt with Mercer on Saturday. If they can build on this performance, the Cougars might be closer to turning the corner than their record suggests.