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USC fends off Washington behind Isaiah Collier’s 31

Feb 29, 2024; Pullman, Washington, USA; USC Trojans guard Isaiah Collier (1) shoots the ball againstWashington State Cougars forward Andrej Jakimovski (23) in the second half at Friel Court at Beasley Coliseum. Washington State Cougars won 75-72. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-USA TODAY Sports
Credit: James Snook-USA TODAY Sports

Isaiah Collier scored a career-high 31 points, including eight straight down the stretch, to help Southern California hold off a late-game Washington rally en route to an 82-75 road win on Saturday in Seattle.

The Trojans (12-17, 6-12 Pac-12) built a lead of 15 points in the second half before the Huskies went on a 12-1 run. Koren Johnson helped engineer the turnaround with eight of his team-high 21 points off the bench during that stretch.

Washington (16-14, 8-11) cut the deficit to as few as three points with 90 seconds remaining, when Keion Brooks Jr. was fouled by Collier on a 3-point attempt. Brooks finished with 20 points in the loss.

The foul was the only miscue for Collier late in the game. The freshman took over, answering each Huskies attempt to slice the deficit further with a driving basket.

Collier’s quartet of layups in the final 2:25 contributed to USC’s 38-22 advantage in points in the paint. The Trojans shot 31-for-57 from the floor behind Collier’s 14-of-20 effort, including 8 of 17 from 3-point range as a team.

Collier went 3-for-5 from deep and Boogie Ellis went 3-for-6 on 3s on the way to 17 points. DJ Rodman added another 17 points for the Trojans on 6-of-7 shooting from the floor and grabbed six rebounds.

Kobe Johnson made up for poor shooting (2-for-8) with team highs of nine rebounds, five assists, four steals and two blocked shots. Johnson also helped USC keep Brooks in check for much of the second half.

Brooks, the Pac-12’s leading scorer, did not make a second-half field goal until the 7:17 mark left in regulation.

Brooks went 5-for-14 from the floor as Washington shot 25-for-60 from the field overall. Sahvir Wheeler added 10 points.

Koren Johnson’s 4-of-5 shooting from 3-point range buoyed Washington to a 13-for-32 performance as a team from beyond the arc. The Huskies shot just 12-for-28 on 2-point attempts.

–Field Level Media

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