USC Can’t Keep Up With Washington St. : A Pair of 7-Footers Come Off the Bench to Lead Cougars to 65-58 Win

PULLMAN, Wash. — When a team loses three of its starting players on fouls late in a game, it usually isn’t a good omen

That’s what happened to Washington State Thursday night in its Pacific 10 game with USC.

However, WSU Coach Len Stevens brought a pair of 7-footers, Todd Anderson and Ken Mathia, off the bench, and they clogged up the middle as the Cougars beat the Trojans, 65-58, before a crowd of 5,800 at Friel Court.

So, the magic that the Trojans had last season on the road, where they had an 8-1 record in conference competition, evaporated on a cold night in the Palouse.

USC is 6-6 overall and 1-2 in the Pac-10, while WSU is 8-8 and 1-2.

The Trojans led, 50-48, with 6:52 left on forward Derrick Dowell’s three-point play. Dowell had been fouled by forward Otis Jennings, the third Cougar to foul out in a 1 1/2-minute span. Jennnings followed forward Joe Wallace and center Brian Quinnett to the bench. USC couldn’t improve on its lead, going 3 1/2 minutes without scoring. Washington State took advantage of this lapse and went on a six-point run.

Guard Keith Morrison made a follow shot, guard Chris Winkler hit a short jump shot in the lane and guard Brian Wright got a basket on a breakaway.

USC freshman guard Bo Kimble drew USC closer on a 20-foot shot with 3:17 left, but the Cougars began hitting their free throws, and the Trojans simply couldn’t catch up.

USC still had a chance while trailing, 58-54, with less than two minutes remaining. But freshman guard Tom Lewis lost the ball in the front court, and Wright converted the turnover into a fast-break layup.

“It turned out to be Washington State’s benefit when Jennings and Wallace fouled out,” Dowell said. “I could move on them because they’re my size. But the 7-footers created a problem inside. I could move only laterally.”

When 6-9 USC center Rod Keller fouled out with 4:05 left, the Trojans didn’t have a player taller than 6-7 on the floor.

That was a factor. So were the 20 turnovers the Trojans committed, against only nine for Washington State.

“The key to the game was the uncharacteristic way we turned the ball over,” USC Coach Stan Morrison said. “We’ve only had about 7 turnovers for 40 minutes in our last few games. We had 11 at halftime tonight.

“Secondly, we shot poorly, but we played hard.”

USC shot 44.2% from the field, while WSU was hitting at a 52.1% clip. Curiously, the Trojans out-rebounded the Cougars, 27-18, even with the 7-footers taking up room in the middle.

Last season, USC would win this type of game on the road. But Morrison had a more experienced team then. Three freshmen--Lewis, Kimble and forward Hank Gathers--played extensively Thursday night.

Lewis, who missed Sunday’s game with Oregon because of a sprained right ankle, scored 16 points. But he made only 6 of his 15 shots. Dowell led the Trojans with 18 points, coverting 8 of 9 free throws.

The Trojans couldn’t contain Winkler, who got 16 points, most of then on accurate jump shots from the corners. He had been in a season-long slump but snapped out of it against USC, making 6 of his 9 shots.

“We didn’t get Winkler covered in the zone, and he hurt us,” Morrison said. “Also, those two big guys took up a lot of room in there.”

Anderson and Mathia weren’t offensive threats. Anderson got only four points in 24 minutes, while Mathia was scoreless in the seven minutes he worked.

But they were factors just by their presence.

“I’m not going to change the starting lineup despite their play at the end of the game,” Stevens said. “I don’t believe we can play with those big people right off. For us to win, we need balanced scoring. With the 7-footers, we don’t always get much offense. They slow us down.”

Dowell didn’t start Thursday night for superstitious reasons. He didn’t start against Oregon because he was bothered by stomach flu. Then, he came into the game early in the first half and wound up with 22 points and 10 rebounds.

Morrison kept Dowell on the bench at the outset Thursday. But he was on the floor inside of the first three minutes, and he was efficient offensively with nine points in the first half. He got only one rebound, but he came back with eight rebounds in the second half.

The Trojans led at halftime, 31-29, on Dowell’s follow shot with three seconds left before the break.

The teams were never more than six points apart throughout most of the second half, and USC seemed to be in good shape as Washington State’s starters began fouling out of the game in rapid succession.

It didn’t work out that way, though.

USC continues its trip with a 1 p.m. game Saturday against Washington at Seattle.