Josh Morgan lay face down in the paint, his 6-foot-10 frame writhing in pain. As USC’s lone starting big man, Morgan and his freakish length had been a critical part of the Trojans’ designs to clamp down against Washington State, a team that made a mockery of their defense just a month earlier.
But now a wrench had been thrown into those plans a mere five minutes into Thursday’s matchup at Galen Center. Now, as Morgan hobbled off the court, unable to put weight on his right foot, USC would have to cobble together a new frontcourt, counting on the rest of its lineup to clamp down.
The Trojans would ultimately do just enough to slip past Washington State without its big man 80-70; though, this particular victory would hardly be the defensive statement USC hoped to make.
A team trainer tends to USC forward Joshua Morgan during the first half of USC’s win over Washington State on Thursday night.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Winning its fifth game in six tries would mean weathering an all-out assault on the paint by Washington State’s Mouhamed Gueye, who scored a career-high 31 points. It would require another stellar offensive effort from its star seniors, with Boogie Ellis and Drew Peterson combining for 41 points, and a strong shooting performance all around, as USC shot 52% overall and 47% from the three-point line, a significant improvement from the last time these two teams met.
Even still, USC led by just three points with less than two minutes remaining when Washington State’s leading scorer TJ Bamba fired from three-point range with designs on tying the game.
But his attempt barely passed the arc as Vince Iwuchukwu, the Trojans’ freshman 7-footer and Morgan’s direct backup, swatted the shot out of midair and closed the book on Washington State.
Peterson did the rest by sinking a three on the next possession.
USC guard Boogie Ellis (5) and forward Kijani Wright (33) chase a loose ball against Washington State forward Carlos Rosario in the second half.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
USC forward Vincent Iwuchukwu reacts after a slam dunk in the final moments of the Trojans’ win over Washington State.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Just a month earlier, Washington State made USC pay dearly for its lackluster effort on defense, torching the Trojans from behind the arc. The Cougars hit 14 three-pointers to deal USC a New Year’s Day defeat that Enfield would later call USC’s worst defensive performance of the season.
Its defense didn’t look much better at the start of Thursday’s game. USC was overwhelmed inside by Gueye, who scored the Cougars first 11 points, eight of which came in the paint. He’d put up 20 before halftime, helping Washington State push out to a 13-point lead, before USC finally woke up, rattling off its own 17-2 run to grab the lead back.
But it would lose Morgan, its starting center, to an injury in the process. After landing awkwardly in the paint, Morgan could barely put any weight on his right foot as he hobbled to the locker room. He never returned, leaving USC with an even thinner frontcourt than usual.
USC guard Drew Peterson, right, drives on Washington State forward Andrej Jakimovski during the first half Thursday.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
ince Iwuchukwu, playing in just his sixth game since returning from a cardiac arrest episode last July, was thrust into his most significant role yet. Iwuchukwu had yet to play more than 17 minutes before Thursday, when he played 22.
But a frontcourt combination of Iwuchukwu, Harrison Hornery, Kijani Wright and Iaroslav Niagu could only do so much to slow Gueye, who scored the most of any player against USC this season.
