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USC tops Washington Huskies; teams await rematch in Pac-12 Tournament

Washington’s Noah Dickerson, left, is defended by Southern California’s Chimezie Metu during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, March 4, 2017, in Los Angeles. (Jae C. Hong / Associated Press)
Associated Press

LOS ANGELES – Jordan McLaughlin had 22 points and nine assists and Chimezie Metu added 17 points as Southern California held off Washington 74-58 on Saturday.

With the victory, Southern Cal (23-8, 10-8) finished its regular season in a tie for fifth place with California in the Pac-12 standings.

The Trojans outshot the Huskies 59 to 42 percent and outscored them 44-20 in the paint to win their second straight after four consecutive losses.

Washington (9-21, 2-16) lost its 12th in a row, and finished the regular season in 11th place in the conference.

Noah Dickerson had a career-high 27 points and eight rebounds to lead the Huskies. Matisse Thybulle added 19 points for Washington.

The Huskies played without star freshman point guard and leading scorer Markelle Fultz, who sat out for the fifth time in seven games with a sore right knee.

Behind 14-4 four minutes in, the Trojans still trailed 30-24 before going on a 15-3 run to close the first half. The Trojans took a 39-33 lead on McLaughlin’s driving, left-handed lay-in over two defenders with 34 seconds left in the half.

The Trojans led throughout the second half. The Huskies got within 51-48 only to see the Trojans pull away to a 65-55 lead on McLaughlin’s runner in the lane with 3:29 to play.

McLaughlin then fed Metu on a fast-break, alley-oop pass for a dunk, putting the Trojans up 67-55 with 2:21 left.

Big picture

Washington: In their final game of the regular season, the Huskies started three sophomores and two freshmen. The Huskies’ two Pac-12 victories this season came at home against Colorado in overtime and Oregon State. The Rams and Beavers combined to go 2-16 on the road this season. Markelle Fulkes’ status for the Pac-12 Tournament remains undetermined.

Southern Cal: Southern Cal posted 10 conference victories for the first time since 2011. Against the four top finishers in the conference (Oregon, Arizona, UCLA and Utah), the Trojans went 1-6, beating UCLA 84-76 at home on Jan. 25.

Up next

The Huskies and Trojans get a rematch on Wednesday in the Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas.