COUGARS
FROM LOS ANGELES — Well, that wasn't pretty. But the Cougars got what they were after — a win, no matter how it came. We have our postgame review after the jump.
PLAYER OF THE GAME — Brock Motum took over in the second half, scoring WSU's first 13 points of the period to boost his team to a 39-22 lead. Turned out they didn't need to score again. And they played like it, too, going the final 9:09 without a field goal. But Motum's 27 points were the difference tonight. He scored 62.7 percent of WSU's total points, and attempted exactly half of its field goals, making 12-21.
PLAY OF THE GAME — Probably Greg Allen's missed 3-pointer from the corner with 36 seconds to go. If he made it, the game would have been tied and all 3,102 people in here would have been going nuts. Or as nuts as 3,102 people can go.
KEY STAT — The Trojans shot just 28.9 percent from the field, a big reason why they only scored 14 points in the first half. WSU was able to play man-to-man against them, and USC's only easy baskets were a handful of uncontested 3-pointers they made.
QUOTABLE — “I’m pretty sure everybody expected to win more games than we did. But we’ve just got to bounce back and finish the season off strong and try to get four wins in a row.” — Mike Ladd
NEXT UP — The first round of the Pac-12 tournament, Wednesday vs. Oregon State at the Staples Center. The Beavers (17-13, 7-11) beat Colorado on Saturday and are one of two Pac-12 teams the Cougars swept this year.
Christian Caple can be reached at christianc@spokesman.com. Twitter: @ChristianCaple
Jim Allen Sports reporter Jim Allen's primary coverage areas are Eastern Washington University football and men's basketball, Whitworth University men's basketball, and college and high school soccer. He also contributes to the SportsLink Blog.
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Christian Caple Sports reporter Christian Caple covers Washington State University athletics. He also contributes to the SportsLink Blog.
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Greg Lee Greg Lee covers high school sports in Eastern Washington and North Idaho. He also contributes to the SportsLink Blog.
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Jim Meehan Jim Meehan's coverage areas include Gonzaga University men's basketball, Whitworth University football, the Spokane Shock, golf and volleyball. He also contributes to the SportsLink Blog.
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Chris Derrick Chris Derrick is a sports reporter for the sports section. His primary coverage areas are the Spokane Chiefs, women's basketball and high school sports in the fall and spring.
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Josh Wright Josh Wright is a freelance correspondent who covers the University of Idaho football team and men's basketball team.
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