Washington State plays ‘best game’ of season, preserves lead for final 34 minutes in streak-stopping win over USC

PULLMAN – On Friday, Washington State controlled a lead against UCLA for 38 minutes, but stumbled late and fell by one point. Two days later, the Cougars again built a sizable lead in the first half against talented visitors from Los Angeles. This time, WSU didn’t slip.

The Cougs used hot 3-point shooting to fashion an early advantage, which they maintained for the final 34 minutes of Sunday’s Pac-12 victory over USC at Beasley Coliseum. WSU prevailed 81-71 to stop a three-game skid and earn its first win over the Trojans in eight years.

“We feel good, just to win after the streak we had,” Cougar post Mouhamed Gueye said. “We made everybody happy. Everybody’s smiling now, so we’re all good.”

Coach Kyle Smith called it “our best game we’ve played this year.” The Cougs picked up their first significant win of the season – that is, their first resume-booster over a top-100 team in the NCAA NET rankings – and secured their first Pac-12 win of the campaign while snapping a 12-game losing streak versus USC, dating back to March 2015.

“It’s easy to tank after a hard loss like that (against UCLA),” Smith added. “But the silver lining was accurate – we led for 38 minutes against a really good team. They snatched it away from us. … Today, we were pretty consistent.”

WSU found clean looks with crisp passing and shot 10 of 19 from 3-point range in the first half to create a double-digit buffer. The Cougars (6-9, 1-3 Pac-12) couldn’t sustain their efficiency from downtown in the second half, but held tight and warded off a couple of challenges from the Trojans (11-4, 3-1), whose seven-game winning streak came to an end.

“They really test you in all areas,” Smith said of USC. “We were able to take care of the ball and make some shots.”

USC cut its deficit to six points midway through the second half. Coug guard TJ Bamba responded with back-to-back driving layups. Gueye followed with a put-back dunk to quell USC’s signs of momentum.

The Trojans trimmed the Coug lead to eight points with about three minutes remaining. Gueye answered with a traditional three-point play and added a jumper moments later to put USC away.

“Rule No. 1 – never panic,” Gueye said. “We were never in doubt.”

Gueye totaled 12 points and three blocks. Bamba scored 11 of his 14 points in the final 10 minutes of the game.

“Bamba struggled a little bit – a lotta bit – early and he really delivered late, and that’s what your captain (should do),” Smith said, adding of Gueye: “He was awesome. We played through him. He facilitated, no turnovers, had a couple of nice back-door passes. He’s just getting better and more comfortable. He’s a really unselfish person and unselfish leader.”

The Cougs recorded 16 assists on 27 field goals and committed just nine turnovers. WSU hit 14 of 29 attempts from 3-point range. After 12 minutes of game time, the Cougars were 7 of 12 from deep. They made extra passes to free up shooters, logging nine assists on 10 made 3s in the first half.

Guard Jabe Mullins and forward DJ Rodman tallied 16 points apiece, combining to shoot 7 of 12 from distance. Mullins knocked down three 3s and scored 13 points in the first half.

“Jabe has been the catalyst (for WSU’s 3-point shooting),” Smith said. “He really puts a lot of pressure on anyone’s defense.”

Guard Justin Powell went 4 of 7 from long range, scoring 15 points and doling out seven assists. 

“When you get into a flow and everybody starts hitting, it’s contagious,” Powell said. “Today, everybody was moving (the ball) really well. We played well on the offensive end.”

Guard Drew Peterson led the Trojans with 16 points. Guard Boogie Ellis found his shooting touch in the second half and finished with 12 points. He fouled out late.

“They’ve got two of the best individual covers in Peterson and Ellis, and I thought we did a pretty good job,” Smith said. “Boogie kept them in it late and made it very interesting there. Just watching (the Trojans) as they’ve gone through the season, they seem to get better and that was a really good win for us.”

WSU held the Trojans to 3 of 18 from beyond the arc. The Cougs’ opponents are shooting a combined 31% on 3-point tries this season. WSU limited USC’s transition attack, allowing one point off of fast breaks. The Trojans won the rebounding battle 43-30, including an 18-9 edge on the offensive glass, but both teams finished with 16 second-chance points.

The Cougs limped out of the nonconference portion of their schedule after dropping back-to-back games last week at the Diamond Head Classic in Hawaii and suffering a heartbreaker against the 11th-ranked Bruins. But WSU regrouped quickly and will bring a reinvigorated team to the desert this week. The Cougs visit Arizona State (11-3, 2-1) at 5 p.m. on Thursday.

“It would have been easy (to fold),” Smith said. “People ask me, ‘What do you like most about this team?’ I say, ‘I like our guys, I like our character.’ … They have good character and they’re able to bounce back and recover from that stuff.”

Smith sustains injury

When asked how he’ll spend his New Year’s Day, the Cougs’ fourth-year coach said he’ll be nursing a thigh injury that occurred during the second half.

“I pulled my quad,” he said, laughing. “(Forward Andrej Jakimovski) is breaking a press, he’s getting trapped. I’m yelling for a timeout. I must have fully tensed up. I felt it pop, so I got a bandage. They’ll wrap it up. The family’s got a new puppy, a little silver lab. I’ll enjoy some time with her before we get ready for Arizona State. … Maybe sneak a Modelo in.”