PULLMAN, Wash. — USC freshman Isaiah Collier scored a game-high 24 points but missed a critical free throw with 23 seconds left as the Trojans lost to No. 19 Washington State, 75-72, on Thursday night.
Collier’s free throw would have cut Washington State’s lead to two points. Jaylen Wells then missed two free throws on the other end for Washington State and USC (11-17, 5-12) had one last chance to try to force overtime, but Boogie Ellis and Kobe Johnson missed 3-point attempts in the final seconds.
Collier used his physicality and athleticism to score 14 points in the first half. He had back-to-back clutch drives and baskets in the final minutes.
Late in the first half, the Cougars (22-7, 13-5 Pac-12) turned it over on three consecutive possessions and five times in a two-minute stretch to help USC race to a 39-27 lead. But Washington State closed the half with an 8-0 run to close the gap to 39-35 at intermission.
USC outscored the Cougars 46-20 in the paint.
DJ Rodman, a USC graduate transfer who played his first four years at Washington State, was greeted with frequent boos in his return to Pullman. He scored eight points.
Isaiah Watts and Andrej Jakimovski scored 18 points each and Myles Rice added 16 for the Cougars, who have won eight of their last nine games.
The Cougars trailed by 12 points late in the first half and didn’t take their first lead until 2:35 remaining on a 3-pointer from Watts, his fifth of the game.
Washington State avoided what would have been its second straight loss to an unranked opponent after winning at No. 4 Arizona on Feb. 22. With the win and UCLA’s loss at Washington, the Cougars locked up a top-four seed and a bye in the Pac-12 tournament.
“We talk about this being a character development program. They really showed their character,” Washington State coach Kyle Smith said. “It would have been easy to hang their head. They were playing well. We couldn’t get a stop. No one hung their head and we made it…
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