USC Basketball vs. Washington: Trojans Advance In Pac-12 Tournament

USC basketball (24-8) let Washington (9-22) stick around, but ultimately pulled out the victory, 78-73, to advance to the next round of the Pac-12 Tournament.

The lowdown: Washington’s Noah Dickerson picked up where he left off against the Trojans, scoring the opening points on a fastbreak as USC fell behind 7-2 early.

Shaqquan Aaron hit a corner three to draw the Trojans back to 11-9 after a scoring flurry from UW’s David Crisp before the first media time out.

Chimezie Metu and Dickerson traded dunks but the Huskies maintained their advantage by attacking the rim much more aggressively than they did at the Galen Center, leading 19-13.

Nick Rakocevic drew a foul for a three-point play and Bennie Boatwright knocked down a deep three-pointer, but Crisp and Dickerson both hit the double-digit scoring mark just past the halfway point of the first to fight the Trojans off to 26-19.

Jordan McLaughlin’s tough rebound and layup, plus an assist for a Metu basket, sparked a USC run bringing the Trojans as close as three points.

However, USC struggled to find their scoring touch and fell away again at 37-27 after three triples in a row by Washington’s Matisse Thybulle with three minutes in the half.

But the Trojans weren’t quite done yet.

Metu slammed down an explosive dunk and McLaughlin got free on a fastbreak to trim the deficit once more at 37-33 with just under a minute left.

Then McLaughlin dished to DeAnthony Melton for a flying one-handed dunk as the Trojans closed out the half trailing just 39-37.

Boatwright opened the second half by attacking the basket and drawing a foul to tie the game at 39 but Crisp quickly answered with a three.

Aaron and Metu worked the ball underneath to take USC’s first lead of the game at 43-42 and the Trojans only built that advantage from there. McLaughlin swished in a three-pointer then Melton added another on a fast break to push the lead to 52-44.

Washington didn’t let USC pull away any further, keeping the deficit within single digits through the 10-minute mark.

Then a collision between Boatwright and UW’s Carlos Johnson resulted in a technical foul against the Huskies and the Trojans blew the game open. Boatwright hit four foul shots, Metu knocked down a jumper and a steal on the other end resulted in an Elijah Stewart three-pointer to put USC up 67-53.

The Huskies clawed it back to a single-digit deficit with five minutes remaining and Thybulle slammed homeon a fastbreak to draw even closer at 71-65.

Metu’s big block assisted McLaughlin on a fastbreak to add to the Trojans cushion as they approached the two-minute mark.

However, Crisp drove to make it a six-point game with a minute and a half to go and Thybulle added pressure by hitting a triple with 38 seconds left, making it 75-71.

Three missed foul shots by Aaron and one by Melton only raised the drama as Malik Dime’s lay up put the Huskies within three points.

The Trojan defense was up to the test though, as Washington failed to hit a shot to tie and Aaron’s rebound and two foul shots cleared USC from the danger.

The Trojans advanced, 78-73, over the Huskies.

The takeaway: Observers whispered about similarities to USC’s devastating loss to ASU but the Trojans didn’t make the same fatal mistakes and were able to cling to their W.

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It’s a good thing too because the victory likely guarantees Andy Enfield’s squad a place in the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season.

McLaughlin continued his stellar run to end the season, logging 11 points, six assists and three rebounds while committing zero turnovers.

Metu was the scoring catalyst for the Trojans, leading all players with 24 points and nine rebounds.

There contributions were key and figure to be a major factor as USC’s season continues.

Stat of the game: USC made 19 straight free throws before missing five of their last nine.

Next on tap: The Trojans advance to the next round of the Pac-12 Tournament to face UCLA on Thursday at 8:30 p.m.