Cougars Stay Close with Trojans Until Final Horn
LOS ANGELES – Washington State’s men’s basketball squad (3-8) delivered a stubborn road performance on Sunday afternoon but fell 68-61 to Southern California at the Galen Center.
WSU narrowed a seven-point halftime deficit to a single bucket around the midpoint of the second half and remained in striking distance the entire game. They connected on nine 3-pointers while USC conversely shot just 1-for-13 from beyond the arc. Rihards Vavers led the Cougars with 13 points on 5-for-8 shooting, while Jerone Morton and Eemeli Yalaho contributed 10 points each.
Washington State battled foul trouble for much of the night and sent USC to the free-throw line 34 times, where the Trojans made 27. Despite that advantage, the Cougars closed the gap thanks to timely perimeter scoring from Vavers, Emmanuel Ugbo, and Tomas Thrastarson, pulling within 42-38 after Ugbo nailed a 3-pointer with 15:38 remaining.
Ugbo finished with six points and six rebounds, and ND Okafor added eight points and four boards. The Cougars committed only two turnovers after halftime.
Upcoming schedule: Washington State continues nonconference play on Wednesday, December 17, at Numerica Veterans Arena in Spokane, Washington for the 509 Classic. WSU will take on Eastern Washington in a neutral-site showdown at 7 p.m. with coverage on SWX. Tickets are available through TicketsWest.
