Isaac Bonton scored 27 points and Washington State scored a whopping 50 points in the second half, but neither were enough as the Cougars lost to the USC Trojans, 85-77, dropping their third game in a row.
It was the fourth loss in five games after an 8-0 start for WSU, dropping the Cougars to 9-4 and 2-4 in the Pac-12. USC, meanwhile, improved to 11-2 and 5-1 and almost certainly will find themselves ranked in the next AP Top 25 poll — a clearly overdue recognition for the Trojans.
The game went about as expected right out of the gate, with the Trojans methodically pulling ahead behind suffocating defense — after 11 minutes, USC’s lead reached double digits for the first time, and the Trojans would take a 12-point lead into the break, 39-27.