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Monday, March 18, 2024
March 18, 2024

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Pac-12 Roundup: Washington State beats Southern California

Cougars hold off late rally by Trojans

The Columbian
Published:

Dexter Kernich-Drew scored 19 points, DaVonte Lacy added 17 and Washington State held off a late rally to beat Southern California 70-66 on Wednesday night in Los Angeles.

Josh Hawkinson added 11 points and 13 rebounds for the Cougars (12-15, 6-9 Pacific-12 Conference) to tie the school’s single-season record with 17 double-doubles. It was WSU’s first road win since Jan. 10.

The Cougars stayed in front the entire second half but had to hold on tight.

WSU led 55-36 with 11:19 to go, but the Trojans (10-18, 2-14) staged a furious rally to cut the lead to 69-66 with 13 seconds to go. Hawkinson made one of two free throws to give the Cougars a valuable four-point lead with six seconds left, and USC turned it over on its final possession.

Julian Jacobs had 16 points, nine assists and five rebounds to lead the Trojans. Malik Marquetti and Katin Reinhardt scored 16 points apiece and Nikola Jovanovic had 10 points and seven rebounds.

Washington State made six 3-pointers in the first half, including four by Kernich-Drew, to get out to a 37-27 halftime lead. The Cougars set the tone with runs of 10-0 and 14-2 in the opening period.

Lacy scored 13 of his 17 points after the break, including nine straight points during a 12-4 run that made it 55-36 with 11:19 to go.

Reinhardt and Jacobs led the Trojans rally with 12 points apiece in the second half.

The Cougars assisted on 17 of their 22 field goals and outrebounded USC 44-33.

UCLA 88, Washington 66

Norman Powell scored 24 points, Tony Parker added 20 and UCLA led all the way in routing Washington in Los Angeles to end a two-game skid. The Bruins (17-12, 9-7) were coming off getting swept in the Arizona desert last weekend.

They are desperate to end the regular season with three consecutive victories at home to bolster their NCAA Tournament résumé, which lacks any wins over top-notch opponents.

Andrew Andrews scored 15 of his 18 points in the second half to lead the Huskies (15-12, 4-11), who have lost eight of their last nine and are just ahead of last-place Southern California in the league standings. Nigel Williams-Goss added 17 points for the Huskies.

UCLA improved to 14-1 at home and has won five in a row over the Huskies.

Oregon 80, California 69

Joseph Young scored 25 points, Dwayne Benjamin had 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Oregon pulled away in the second half to beat California, ending a seven-year skid against the Golden Bears.

Elgin Cook added 17 points for the Ducks (21-8, 11-5).

Oregon made only four baskets over the final 11 minutes but countered that by going 10 of 11 from the free throw line down the stretch following a frenetic first half.

Young, the Pac-12’s leading scorer, got the Ducks going early while Benjamin had 14 of his points in the second half.

The win keeps the Ducks in third place and strengthened their bid to earn a first-round bye in the postseason conference tournament.

Jabari Bird scored 22 points with six rebounds for California (16-12, 6-9).

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