Washington State beats USC 72-64 to win in Galen Center for 1st time in nearly 9 years
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Isaac Jones scored 26 points and Washington State held off Southern California 72-64 on Wednesday night, beating the Trojans on the road for the first time in nearly nine years.
Jaylen Wells added 17 points for the Cougars (11-5, 2-3 Pac-12), who last won at USC on March 1, 2015. It was their final league game at Galen Center, with the Trojans headed to the Big Ten next season.
WSU coach Kyle Smith improved to 2-7 against the Trojans, with the other win coming last January in Pullman.
Jones scored nine straight points to put the Cougars ahead 68-64.
Boogie Ellis got fouled and missed the first free throw. He missed a 3-pointer with 31 seconds remaining and finished with 18 points for the Trojans (8-8, 2-3). Isaiah Collier added 12 points.
Bronny James was the only Trojan not to score, going 0 for 3 in 15 minutes in front of his father, LeBron James. He sat down with 7 1/2 minutes left and didn’t return until the final 29 seconds.
Over the final 8 minutes, the Cougars went 14 of 15 from the line while making just four field goals.
Harrison Hornery’s 3-pointer gave USC its last lead, 64-63. It was also the Trojans’ last basket as they failed to score over the final 2:16.
Neither team led by more than six points in the game until the Cougars score the last nine points of the game.
BIG PICTURE
Washington State: The Cougars are defending at a high rate, ranking second in the Pac-12 in field-goal percentage defense. They lead the league in blocks.
USC: The Trojans are finding themselves since returning home. They were away for eight of their first 13 games for the first time since 2005. Their guards — senior Ellis, junior Kobe Johnson and freshman Collier — each had 20-point games against Stanford last weekend, the first time that’s happened since 2018.
UP NEXT
Washington State: Hosts No. 8 Arizona on Saturday.
USC: Visits Colorado on Saturday in the first of three straight road games.
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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball