COUGARS

It wasn't the triangle. It wasn't any one player, though Taj Gibson was a load, with eight points and a couple rebounds. This first half score was a result of domination by USC's defense of a WSU offense that seemed unable to score – and for 7 minutes, 38 seconds of the first half did exactly that. In that stretch USC built what's going to be a tough-to-overcome lead, breaking out of a 6-6 tie with a 15-point run. That WSU is still in the game can be attributed to Caleb Forrest, who scored the Cougars' first six points – he was the only WSU player to hit a shot in the first 13:33 of the game – finishing the half with 10 points, and Taylor Rochestie, who snapped USC's 15-0 run with a three-point play and ended the half with seven points. WSU was 8 of 24 from the floor, including missing all eight 3-point attempts. USC was much better, hitting 12 of 25 and its only 3-point attempt. We'll be back after this one is over with a quick summary.

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