LOS ANGELES — The USC men’s basketball team built up a lead in the first half and held Washington State off in the second half to beat the Cougars 68-61 in a complete-game effort.
Jacob Cofie recorded a double-double of 21 points and 10 rebounds and Chad Baker-Mazara finished with 19 points. Ezra Ausar added 13 points, mostly off of his 9-for-11 free throw shooting.
Rihards Vavers was Washington State’s leading scorer with 13 points off 41.7% shooting.
Cofie was closing in on a double-double by the end of the first half, scoring 14 points on 7-for-8 shooting while pulling down seven rebounds for the Trojans (10-1 overall, 1-1 Big Ten)
Lineups have been inconsistent this season due to injuries, but the 6-foot-10 sophomore forward has started in every game.
He was part of a starting lineup that was identical to the one that took the floor in the Trojans’ previous game against San Diego, which also included Ezra Ausar, Chad Baker-Mazara, Jerry Easter II and Ryan Cornish.
Washington State (3-8) battled in the paint but was only able to put up eight points from that area. The Cougars shifted to the perimeter and five players hit at least one 3-pointer to shoot 35.7% from long range.
Cofie drained a jump shot from mid-range and then went chest-to-chest with Washington State’s ND Okafor to make another jumper as part of a 17-3 scoring run, and the Trojans made 11-of-14 free throws to build its lead.
The Cougars tacked on nine straight points to close out the end of the first half. They scored from all three levels and had contributions from seven different players in that timeframe, but USC still held a 33-26 advantage at the break.
Jordan Marsh made USC’s first 3-pointer of the game with 16:38 left in the second half on a night of uncharacteristically poor shooting from beyond the arc. The Trojans were shooting .392 from 3-point range heading into the game but shot 7.7% on Sunday.
Baker-Mazara, the team’s leading scorer at 21.9 points per game, went into the tunnel for an unknown reason after being subbed out with 13:46 left on the clock. He returned near the 10-minute mark when the Trojans were leading 47-44.
USC increased its offensive intensity when Baker-Mazara returned and, on the other end of the court, chased the Cougars off the 3-point line as best as possible in the remainder of the game.
Baker-Mazara leaped for a block with 1:38 on the clock to keep Washington State from making it a one-possession game. Cofie made two free throws when his team got the ball back to give USC enough cushion to win the game.
USC’s matchup with Washington State was part of a four-game nonconference stretch. Big Ten play will resume on Jan. 2 at Michigan, and the Trojans’ next game is against UTSA on Wednesday.