WSU leads by four at half

COUGARS

Did someone put me in a time machine and transport me back about three, four years? The halftime score is 23-19 but 11 minutes in it was 8-8. I felt like I was back in the rebuilding era of Cougar basketball. Guess that’s what I get for writing about Dick Bennett in the pregame post. USC isn’t about to give up a transition basket – when the Trojans shoot, at least four guys start back – and WSU is doing its best job of the year of getting back and finding men. … You know how I said in the pregame post if the officials called the game loosely, it would favor USC? Well I was wrong. It’s been called that way and the Cougars defense has been helped. They are being physical and it’s working. USC is shooting 36 percent while WSU is at 41 percent. … The Cougs lead even though Klay Thompson is 0 for 7 from the floor, though many of the looks were good ones. … If you are wondering, they are playing hard today. … We’ll be back at the end.