No. 19 Washington State rallies from 12-point deficit to top Southern California 75-72
PULLMAN, Wash. (AP) Isaiah Watts and Andrej Jakimovski scored 18 points each and Myles Rice added 16 to help No. 19 Washington State rally past Southern California 75-72 on Thursday night.
The Cougars (22-7, 13-5 Pac-12) trailed by 12 points late in the first half and didn’t take their first lead until 2:35 remaining on a 3-pointer from Watts, his fifth of the game.
Washington State avoided what would have been its second straight loss to an unranked opponent after winning at No. 4 Arizona on Feb. 22. With the win and UCLA’s loss at Washington, the Cougars locked up a top four seed and bye in the Pac-12 tournament.
“We talk about this being a character development program. They really showed their character,” Washington State coach Kyle Smith said. “It would have been easy to hang their head. They were playing well. We couldn’t get a stop. No one hung their head and we made it happen.”
USC freshman Isaiah Collier scored a game-high 24 points but missed a critical free throw with 23 seconds left that would have cut Washington State’s lead to two points.
Jaylen Wells then missed two free throws on the other end for Washington State and USC (11-17, 5-12) had one last chance to try and force overtime, but Boogie Ellis and Kobe Johnson missed 3-point attempts in the final seconds.
Wells, who had 13 points, scored five straight to put Wazzu on top for good and stretch its lead to 73-69.
The Cougars, playing in front of their largest crowd (8,288) since 2020, shot 10 of 20 from 3-point range. All but one of their 3s came from Watts and Jakimovski.
“Having that kind of crowd this time of year probably pulled us through, to be honest,” Smith said. “We had to dig deep and make some plays.”
Collier used his physicality and athleticism to score 14 points in the first half. He had back-to-back clutch drives and baskets in the final minutes.
Late in the first half the Cougars turned it over on three straight possessions and five times in a two-minute stretch to help USC race to a 39-27 lead. But Washington State closed the half with an 8-0 run to close the gap to 39-35 at intermission.
“I think we didn’t play great,” Jakimovski said. “Actually I think we played awful – I mean, defense, offense. But you know, we never gave up and we made some big plays at the end.”
USC outscored the Cougars 46-20 in the paint.
DJ Rodman, a USC graduate transfer who played his first four years at Washington State, was greeted with frequent boos in his return to Pullman. He scored 8 points.
BIG PICTURE
USC: The Trojans controlled this one for most of the night and looked to be on their way to their third win in four games. But they failed to get stops at the end to continue a disappointing season.
Washington State: The Cougars look disjointed for much of the night on offense and suffered multiple defensive breakdowns like they did last week at Arizona State. But their 3-point shooting kept them in the game and they caught fire at the end to continue their best season in 15 years.
UP NEXT
USC: At Washington on Saturday.
Washington State: Hosts UCLA on Saturday.
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Time | Team | Play | Score | |
---|---|---|---|---|
20:00 | (Trojans gains possession) | |||
19:47 | Kobe Johnson misses two point jump shot | |||
19:45 | Andrej Jakimovski defensive rebound | |||
19:27 | Rueben Chinyelu misses two point jump shot | |||
19:25 | Joshua Morgan defensive rebound | |||
19:15 | Boogie Ellis misses two point jump shot | |||
19:13 | Isaac Jones defensive rebound | |||
19:01 | Andrej Jakimovski misses three point jump shot | |||
18:59 | Boogie Ellis defensive rebound | |||
18:34 | +2 | Isaiah Collier makes two point layup | 2-0 | |
18:18 | Kobe Johnson blocks Jaylen Wells's two point jump shot | |||
18:16 | Jaylen Wells offensive rebound | |||
18:10 | Joshua Morgan blocks Isaac Jones's two point layup | |||
18:08 | Andrej Jakimovski offensive rebound | |||
18:05 | Andrej Jakimovski misses two point layup | |||
18:03 | Kobe Johnson defensive rebound | |||
17:59 | +2 | Isaiah Collier makes two point jump shot | 4-0 | |
17:34 | Jaylen Wells misses two point jump shot | |||
17:32 | Isaiah Collier defensive rebound | |||
17:17 | +2 | DJ Rodman makes two point layup | 6-0 | |
16:48 | +2 | Isaac Jones makes two point layup (Myles Rice assists) | 6-2 | |
16:17 | +2 | Kobe Johnson makes two point dunk (Boogie Ellis assists) | 8-2 | |
15:46 | Andrej Jakimovski misses three point jump shot | |||
15:44 | Isaac Jones offensive rebound | |||
15:40 | Joshua Morgan personal foul (Isaac Jones draws the foul) | |||
15:40 | TV timeout | |||
15:33 | DJ Rodman personal foul (Isaac Jones draws the foul) | |||
15:15 | +2 | Jaylen Wells makes two point jump shot | 8-4 | |
14:49 | +2 | Isaiah Collier makes two point jump shot | 10-4 | |
14:32 | +2 | Oscar Cluff makes two point layup (Isaac Jones assists) | 10-6 | |
14:15 | Isaac Jones shooting foul (Isaiah Collier draws the foul) | |||
14:15 | +1 | Isaiah Collier makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 11-6 | |
14:15 | +1 | Isaiah Collier makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 12-6 | |
14:01 | Isaac Jones turnover (lost ball) (Isaiah Collier steals) | |||
13:58 | Isaiah Collier turnover (bad pass) | |||
13:37 | Kobe Johnson shooting foul (Jaylen Wells draws the foul) | |||
13:37 | +1 | Jaylen Wells makes regular free throw 1 of 3 | 12-7 | |
13:37 | Jaylen Wells misses regular free throw 2 of 3 | |||
13:37 | +1 | Jaylen Wells makes regular free throw 3 of 3 | 12-8 | |
13:18 | +2 | Bronny James makes two point jump shot | 14-8 | |
13:04 | DJ Rodman blocks Jaylen Wells's two point jump shot | |||
13:02 | Trojans defensive rebound | |||
12:43 | Vincent Iwuchukwu misses two point jump shot | |||
12:41 | Myles Rice defensive rebound | |||
12:38 | Bronny James personal foul (Myles Rice draws the foul) | |||
12:30 | +2 | Myles Rice makes two point jump shot | 14-10 | |
12:11 | Isaiah Collier misses two point layup | |||
12:09 | Vincent Iwuchukwu offensive rebound | |||
12:08 | Vincent Iwuchukwu misses two point layup | |||
12:06 | Myles Rice defensive rebound | |||
12:02 | Myles Rice turnover (lost ball) | |||
11:45 | Bronny James misses two point jump shot | |||
11:43 | Oscar Cluff defensive rebound | |||
11:22 | Oscar Cluff misses two point hook shot | |||
11:20 | Bronny James defensive rebound | |||
11:10 | +2 | Vincent Iwuchukwu makes two point layup | 16-10 | |
11:10 | Oscar Cluff shooting foul (Vincent Iwuchukwu draws the foul) | |||
11:10 | TV timeout | |||
11:10 | Vincent Iwuchukwu misses regular free throw 1 of 1 | |||
11:10 | Andrej Jakimovski defensive rebound | |||
10:56 | +2 | Rueben Chinyelu makes two point layup (Isaiah Watts assists) | 16-12 | |
10:37 | Boogie Ellis misses two point jump shot | |||
10:35 | Myles Rice defensive rebound | |||
10:28 | Bronny James shooting foul (Andrej Jakimovski draws the foul) | |||
10:28 | +1 | Andrej Jakimovski makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 16-13 | |
10:28 | +1 | Andrej Jakimovski makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 16-14 | |
10:16 | +3 | Boogie Ellis makes three point jump shot (Kobe Johnson assists) | 19-14 | |
9:46 | +3 | Andrej Jakimovski makes three point jump shot (Myles Rice assists) | 19-17 | |
9:22 | Kobe Johnson turnover (bad pass) (Isaac Jones steals) | |||
9:06 | Myles Rice misses two point layup | |||
9:04 | Boogie Ellis defensive rebound | |||
9:00 | Andrej Jakimovski blocks Boogie Ellis's two point layup | |||
8:58 | Arrinten Page offensive rebound | |||
8:58 | Isaiah Watts shooting foul (Arrinten Page draws the foul) | |||
8:58 | Arrinten Page misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | |||
8:58 | +1 | Arrinten Page makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 20-17 | |
8:49 | Kymany Houinsou turnover (bad pass) (Oziyah Sellers steals) | |||
8:45 | Kymany Houinsou shooting foul (Oziyah Sellers draws the foul) | |||
8:45 | +1 | Oziyah Sellers makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 21-17 | |
8:45 | +1 | Oziyah Sellers makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 22-17 | |
8:28 | Isaac Jones turnover (lost ball) (Kobe Johnson steals) | |||
8:25 | Kobe Johnson turnover (bad pass) | |||
8:13 | Andrej Jakimovski misses three point jump shot | |||
8:11 | Arrinten Page defensive rebound | |||
8:06 | Arrinten Page turnover (bad pass) | |||
7:51 | +3 | Isaiah Watts makes three point jump shot | 22-20 | |
7:27 | +2 | Joshua Morgan makes two point dunk (Isaiah Collier assists) | 24-20 | |
7:13 | +3 | Isaiah Watts makes three point jump shot | 24-23 | |
6:56 | Jaylen Wells personal foul (Isaiah Collier draws the foul) | |||
6:56 | TV timeout | |||
6:54 | +2 | DJ Rodman makes two point layup (Isaiah Collier assists) | 26-23 | |
6:34 | Myles Rice misses three point jump shot | |||
6:32 | Oziyah Sellers defensive rebound | |||
6:12 | +2 | Isaiah Collier makes two point layup | 28-23 | |
5:49 | Jaylen Wells misses three point jump shot | |||
5:47 | Isaiah Collier defensive rebound | |||
5:41 | +2 | Isaiah Collier makes two point layup | 30-23 | |
5:29 | Myles Rice turnover (bad pass) (Kobe Johnson steals) | |||
5:26 | +2 | Isaiah Collier makes two point dunk (Kobe Johnson assists) | 32-23 | |
5:26 | Cougars 30 second timeout | |||
5:17 | Myles Rice turnover (lost ball) (Isaiah Collier steals) | |||
5:06 | Isaiah Collier misses two point layup | |||
5:04 | Andrej Jakimovski defensive rebound | |||
5:00 | Andrej Jakimovski turnover (lost ball) (DJ Rodman steals) | |||
4:59 | Andrej Jakimovski personal foul (DJ Rodman draws the foul) | |||
4:50 | +2 | Kobe Johnson makes two point dunk (Joshua Morgan assists) | 34-23 | |
4:37 | +2 | Myles Rice makes two point jump shot | 34-25 | |
4:37 | Joshua Morgan offensive foul (Kymany Houinsou draws the foul) | |||
4:37 | Joshua Morgan turnover (offensive foul) | |||
4:12 | Kymany Houinsou turnover (lost ball) (DJ Rodman steals) | |||
4:08 | Boogie Ellis misses three point jump shot | |||
4:06 | Jaylen Wells defensive rebound | |||
3:50 | Kymany Houinsou misses two point layup | |||
3:48 | Rueben Chinyelu offensive rebound | |||
3:47 | Rueben Chinyelu misses two point layup | |||
3:45 | Kymany Houinsou offensive rebound | |||
3:45 | Kymany Houinsou misses two point layup | |||
3:43 | Kobe Johnson defensive rebound | |||
3:29 | Vincent Iwuchukwu misses two point hook shot | |||
3:27 | Rueben Chinyelu defensive rebound | |||
3:17 | Myles Rice turnover (lost ball) (Oziyah Sellers steals) | |||
3:03 | +2 | Oziyah Sellers makes two point jump shot | 36-25 | |
2:37 | +2 | Jaylen Wells makes two point jump shot | 36-27 | |
2:26 | +2 | Kobe Johnson makes two point layup | 38-27 | |
2:02 | Myles Rice misses two point jump shot | |||
2:00 | Vincent Iwuchukwu defensive rebound | |||
2:00 | TV timeout | |||
1:38 | Boogie Ellis misses three point jump shot | |||
1:36 | Vincent Iwuchukwu offensive rebound | |||
1:35 | Myles Rice personal foul (Vincent Iwuchukwu draws the foul) | |||
1:35 | +1 | Vincent Iwuchukwu makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 39-27 | |
1:35 | Vincent Iwuchukwu misses regular free throw 2 of 2 | |||
1:35 | Isaiah Watts defensive rebound | |||
1:25 | +3 | Isaiah Watts makes three point jump shot (Isaac Jones assists) | 39-30 | |
1:02 | DJ Rodman offensive foul (Myles Rice draws the foul) | |||
1:02 | DJ Rodman turnover (offensive foul) | |||
0:40 | +3 | Andrej Jakimovski makes three point jump shot (Isaac Jones assists) | 39-33 | |
0:30 | Trojans 30 second timeout | |||
0:09 | Boogie Ellis misses two point layup | |||
0:07 | Isaiah Watts defensive rebound | |||
0:01 | +2 | Myles Rice makes two point layup | 39-35 | |
0:00 | End of period |