National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Washington St. 85, Southern California 77
When: 10:00 PM ET, Thursday, March 3, 2011
Where: Beasley Performing Arts Coliseum, Pullman, Washington
Officials: # Rick Batsell, # Bruce Hicks, # J.T. Orr
Attendance: 7126

DeAngelo Casto recorded his sixth double-double with 24 points and 10 rebounds and host Washington State ended USC’s four-game winning streak with an 85-77 victory on Thursday.

Klay Thompson scored 22 points and Faisal Aden added 20 for the Cougars (19-10, 9-8 Pac-10), who led 41-26 at the half and never trailed in the contest. Facing the Pac-10’s top scoring defense, Washington State shot 29 of 53 (54.7 percent) from the field.

USC made 8 of 14 of its 3-pointers in the second half, including Maurice Jones’ shot with seven minutes left that pulled USC within one, 63-62. USC stayed within two possessions down the stretch, but Aden’s layup with 1:40 left gave the Cougars a seven-point lead.

Nikola Vucevic tallied his seventh straight double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds to pace the Trojans (17-13, 9-8). Jones scored 16 points and Donte Jones added 14.

After winning its last four games by an average of 10.8 points, USC had moved to fourth in the Pac-10 standings. Thursday’s loss likely means the Trojans need to win the Pac-10 Tournament to earn an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament.

Washington State, which had an impressive win at Washington on Saturday, remains on the NCAA Tournament bubble with the victory. The Cougars entered Thursday’s action with an RPI of 76, one half game out of fifth place in the Pac-10.
Top Game Performances
 
Southern California   Washington St.
Nikola Vucevic 22 Scoring DeAngelo Casto 24
Jio Fontan 7 Assists Abe Lodwick 3
Nikola Vucevic 11 Rebounds DeAngelo Casto 10
Nikola Vucevic 5 Free Throws Made Klay Thompson 9
Maurice Jones 2 Steals Marcus Capers 3
Garrett Jackson 1 Blocks DeAngelo Casto 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Southern California 77 45.2 10-23 11-16 12 27 2 3
Washington St. 85 54.7 4-10 23-30 12 29 3 7