Trojans Win With Youth Movement

For USC, almost every bright spot was smudged.

The Trojans ended a four-game losing streak Saturday night by defeating Washington State, 75-69, in overtime before 2,681 at the Sports Arena, but they wrestled more with their dismal shooting and lax defense than the Cougars.

USC’s freshmen finally played well, but the Trojans scored only 56 points in regulation.

“I’ll take a win,” USC Coach Henry Bibby said. “You’d think after losing 11 of our last 13 games that our guys would give up, but they didn’t. They played their hearts out.”

In crunch time, Bibby had three freshmen in the lineup; forwards Greg Lakey and Jeff Trepagnier and guard Kevin Augustine. Trepagnier blocked a Cougar jump shot and Augustine scooped up the loose ball, raced down court and scored to put the Trojans ahead, 65-61, with 1:27 left in overtime.

With less than a minute to go, Augustine, Lakey and senior Anthony White combined to make five free throws to secure the victory.

“[The freshmen] have confidence at the end of games now,” said Lakey, who scored 14 points and had eight rebounds. “We’ve been playing good minutes against good teams lately and we’re not afraid about making mistakes anymore.”

Augustine led USC with 15 points and three assists and Trepagnier had six rebounds, two steals and eight points, including a tip-in with 2:30 left in overtime.

Encouraging performances from younger players might bode well for the future, but for right now, USC (7-12 overall and 3-6 in the Pac-10) is plagued by erratic shooting and poor defense.

It was a game in which Washington State (8-12, 1-8) shot 37% from the field and made only 22.2% of its three-pointers, but outplayed the Trojans.

USC had a season-low 36.5% from the field on 23-for-63 shooting. The Trojans also had their worst game of the season from three-point range, making only four of 18 (22.2%).

“We’ve been shooting a lot outside lately and that’s one reason we’ve been losing,” Bibby said. “We need to get the ball inside and put some pressure on their inside players.”

The Trojans’ up-and-down performance could be symbolized in the play of junior guard Elias Ayuso, who made three of 10 shots from the floor and only one of his five three-point shots.

But Ayuso, who has been battling a shooting slump and missed his first five shots, helped ignite the Trojans in overtime by scoring their first four points. He also stole a Cougar pass.

“I kept telling my teammates, I was going to steal one away,” said Ayuso, who finished with nine points.

The Trojans led by eight points with 6:23 left in regulation, then the Cougars scored nine unanswered points during a three-minute stretch.

Carlos Daniel led the Cougars with 22 points and 12 rebounds and Kojo Mensah-Bonsu added 14.