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Trojans Hold Off Washington 62-60

The Pac-10 conference regular season ended Saturday night. Its final matchup pitted the rising USC Trojans against the struggling Washington Huskies. After stumbling Thursday night against the Washington State Cougars, the Trojans rallied Saturday to hold off the Huskies on Senior Night with a 62-60 win in Seattle.

Jio Fontan started the Trojans off with a bang, scoring his team's first five points. USC hit its first six field goal attempts, jumping out to an early 14-6 lead over the Huskies. Fontan finished the game with 20 points and four assists.

It was a good-enough offensive night for the team with the conference's best defense. Nikola Vucevic added 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Trojans, who shot 41.7 percent in their two-point victory. For Washington, a team that averages 84 points per game, the hits kept coming. As the nation's third-leading shooting team, with an average of 47.2 percent from the field, the Huskies have struggled offensively in their last five matchups, shooting under 40 percent. Senior Venoy Overton led the Huskies with 15 points and sparked a second-half surge that had the Trojans fighting hard for a much-needed victory on the fringe of the NCAA bubble.

The Huskies went nearly seven minutes without scoring a field goal in the second half; however, mistakes by the Trojan’s kept the Huskies within striking distance. Washington made eight of 10 free throws down the stretch to pull within two points of the Trojans, but that came with just two second remaining. The clock ran out on the Huskies because they were never able to string together three or four successful possessions.

Washington’s star point guard Isaiah Thomas continued to struggle to find his stride offensively. Averaging 16 points a game, Thomas went just 5-of-13 from the field and 0-of-3 behind the arc.

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Justin Holiday and Aziz N’Diaye looked scattered Saturday evening. Both the senior forward and the sophomore center were held scoreless against the Trojans. Holiday, who averages 11.3 points a game went 0-6 from the field with five rebounds and two blocked shots. N’Diaye never even attempted a shot.

Washington is continuing to struggle to find the basket. A team that was a preseason pick to win the Pac-10 outright, Washington has been a bit of a letdown as of late, and despite the Huskies' impressive statistics on a national scale, it would be in their best interest to get a win or two in the conference tournament to secure a spot in the field of 68 on Selection Sunday.

Leading by as many as 14, the Trojans pushed the limits of Washington defense and did their best to make a case for the Tournament Selection Committee by once again adding a quality win to their resume.

By Ganelle Swehla
DFN Sports Staff Writer