Underdog Cougars Hang Tough, Come Up Short in 68-61 Loss to USC
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Washington State Cougars forward ND Okafor posts up against USC in a basketball game. Credit: Washington State Cougars/Instagram [/caption]
LOS ANGELES, Calif. - In the opening minutes of the Washington State Cougars latest road test against the USC Trojans, the two teams traded blows back and forth in the early going as the road underdog stayed close early.
Unfortunately, an improved effort wasn’t enough to get the Cougars back in the win column, as a key stretch in the first half loomed large towards the end of regulation in a 68-61 loss to the Trojans.
"I thought we had a good week of practice, we got better this week. But unfortunately, it didn’t show in the results because we weren't able to execute in the first half,” Cougars coach David Riley reflected postgame.
With Wazzu trailing 15-11 in the opening half, a turnover by Tomas Thrastarson led to Eemeli Yalaho fouling a Trojan on a three-point attempt. A turnover by Parker Gerrits turned into a layup on the other end for the Trojans. A USC offensive rebound led to a second chance opportunity in the paint moments later. This turn of evens facilitated a four-point deficit spiraled into a 15-point hole in three minutes with the same self-inflicted wounds that have caused the Cougars problems all season rearing their ugly head once again.
However, unlike in their 83-81 home opener loss to Idaho where their comeback attempt came up too little too late, or their 85-69 loss to Davidson in which they could not produce enough offense to make it a game, the Cougars did not let their mistakes compound for much longer. They held the Trojans to 1-11 shooting to close out the half and coming out of break, a three-pointer from Rihards Vavers made it just a one-point game.
Through 11 games, Washington State’s defense has been spotty, but they made things tough for two of USC’s best scorers. Coming into Sunday, USC senior Chad Baker-Mazara had averaged 21.9 points, fifth in the nation. While he finished with 19 points against the Cougars, he did so making just four out of 13 shots. USC senior Ezra Ausar came into the game averaging 17.2 points, but finished with 13 making just two out of eight shots.
With two of their top scorers struggling to find their shot, the Trojans struggled to pull away from the Cougs. But when the Trojans shots were not falling from the field, USC found success attacking the rim and being rewarded with trips to the free throw line, which proved to be the difference for the home team.
Despite Baker-Mazara and Ausar struggling from the field, the pair attempted a combined 22 free throws and fueled a total of 34 USC free throw attempts compared to the Cougars only having 14. Soon enough, the one possession game at halftime turned into a double-digit deficit as the Cougars could not muster enough offense to mount another comeback.
Still lacking in the scoring department, Washington State’s leading scorer was Vavers with 13 points, but he didn’t receive enough help. Namely, sparkplug freshman Ace Glass had a disappointing homecoming in his return to his home state, contributing just three points on one for seven shooting. Thrastarson had a somewhat off night as well, going four for 10 from the field for nine points while only hitting on one out of six three point shots.
With the Cougars next two games against Eastern Washington and Mercer, two of the weaker teams in Division I, Riley’s team has a chance to get their season back on track before WCC play begins as they ride a five-game losing streak and he believes they are heading in the right direction now. But while his team has made strides, those improvements will only matter if they start translating into wins, as moral victories won’t be part of the equation.
“I do feel like we’re getting better, we’re right there. We have two more games of non-conference that we got to build some momentum going into conference play and that’s what college basketball is all about.”
