USC Basketball vs. Washington: Trojans Take Care of Business In Win

USC basketball (23-8) finished off the regular season with a much-needed win over Washington (9-21) to solidify their resume for the NCAA tournament,74-58.

The lowdown: Chimezie Metu got USC on the board first but Washington’s scorers were more prolific to start, going up 14-4 in the early goings.

Nick Rakocevic ended UW’s 9-0 run with a contested lay up sparking a 6-0 run for the Trojans, capped by a fastbreak dunk from Charles Buggs on Senior Day at the Galen Center.

Nearing the midway point of the half, Jordan McLaughlin pulled USC within two at 19-17 with the Trojans’ first made three of the contest after three early misses.

After Washington’s Noah Dickerson responded to maintain the advantage, again it was McLaughlin who added pressure to the Huskies, hitting a pull up three to make it 25-22 with under seven minutes to go in the first.

An acrobatic shot from Dickerson pressed USC back once more when Rakocevic drew the Trojans within one point.

Finally USC closed the deficit completely courtesy of Buggs, whose corner three gave the Trojans the tied at 31-31.

Shortly after, Metu put USC up for the first time since the opening basket. With the Trojans finally rolling, USC went to the half leading 39-33.

In the second half, Shaqquan Aaron stifled the Washington advance with a one-handed slam followed by a forced turnover on the other end.

Washington never went away, however, with scoring from Dickerson and Matisse Thybulle keeping the game at single digits.

With just over nine minutes to play, Rakocevic’s dunk got the Galen Center crowd excited with an eight-point advantage, but Dickerson hit back immediately to set his career high with 24 points.

Thybulle hit his fifth three-pointer of the game to pull the Huskies within five points at the five minute mark as USC struggled to put them away.

Rakocevic went inside to build the Trojans’ advantage back up to nine points at 63-54 after a field goal drought stretching five minutes.

McLaughlin’s lay up gave USC their largest lead at ten with under three minutes remaining.

An explosive alley-oop dunk from McLaughlin to Metu stretching it to 67-55 all but put the game away with two minutes left, though the final minutes were not without some drama as Boatwright fouled out on a video replay.

Walk-on senior Sam Dhillon capped the affair by swishing in a three pointer — his first basket of the season — as the Trojans secured the win, 74-58.

The takeaway: The Trojans needed a win to close out the season and they got it against the Huskies, who were missing leading scorer Markelle Fultz.

More from Reign of Troy

• Markese Stepp enters transfer portal intending to leave USC football
• USC football’s Alijah Vera-Tucker declares for NFL Draft
• USC football adds Xavion Alford as transfer from Texas
• USC Podcast: RoT Radio Ep. 396 on the Football Season’s Fallout
• Talanoa Hufanga named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, USC football with five first-teamers

It wasn’t as easy as Andy Enfield may have liked, but USC leaned on the veteran presence of McLaughlin, who led the team with 22 points and nine assists, to get the job done.

Though they struggled from distance, hitting just 4-of-14 three-point attempts, the Trojans made up for it by winning the battle in the paint.

The victory shores up USC’s NCAA tournament resume after a bad loss to ASU last week.

Stat of the game: The Trojans outscored Washington in the paint 44-22.

Next on tap: USC will change venues, but not opposition as they face Washington in the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas on Wednesday.