After dropping Pac-12 opener, USC bounces back in 89-71 win over Washington State

LOS ANGELES — USC’s rocky opening to Pac-12 Conference play leveled a little Sunday evening.

The Trojans handled Washington State, an 89-71 victory in which they never trailed and lead by as many as 28 points, averting a potentially disastrous home sweep.

Six players scored in double-figures, led by 17 points from senior guard Elijah Stewart, while Jordan McLaughlin added 10 points with 11 assists, his second double-double this season.

USC, which improved to 10-5 overall and 1-1 in conference, held the Cougars to just under 40 percent shooting, an about-face two days after one of its worst defensive performances in more than a decade.

“I feel it was more urgency this game,” Stewart said. “We had to come in and redeem ourselves.”

In an 88-81 loss to Washington in their conference opener Friday, the Huskies had shot 67 percent. It was the highest percentage any team had made against the Trojans since 2003, adding to a season filled with turbulence.

Following the defeat, USC coach Andy Enfield told reporters he was “disappointed” with his veteran players’ defensive effort.

“They’ve been to two straight NCAA Tournaments, they’ve won a lot of big games, they set the school record for wins, and we have a lot of returnees from those two years,” Enfield said. “They know what it takes to win. They know what it takes defensively to have a chance to win big games, because they’ve done it many, many times. That’s what I was so upset with.”

As part of their defensive effort, playing in front of a small New Year’s Eve crowd of 2,518 at the Galen Center, the Trojans forced 10 steals, equaling a season-high, and held Washington State’s leading scorer, Robert Franks to nine points on seven shot attempts. Franks, a 6-foot-7 forward, averaged 18.2 points in his first 13 games.

“We had more energy,” McLaughlin said.

Stewart said the Trojans tried to slow down Washington State’s top shooters.

“We just stopped them from doing what they were good at,” Stewart said.

Enfield reiterated his concerns with players at practice Saturday and in the lead-up to tip-off against Washington State (8-6, 0-2 in Pac-12).

“We’re not down on our players,” he added, “we just had to point out that they know what to do.”

The Trojans were without sophomore guard De’Anthony Melton, their best defender, who missed his 15th consecutive game as the school investigates his eligibility, connected to an FBI probe into bribery and corruption in college basketball.

The preseason top-10 team, which has also dealt with a wave of injuries, including second-leading scorer Bennie Boatwright for a pair of games, did return backup point guard Derryck Thornton, a Duke transfer, who scored two points in nine minutes off the bench. Thornton appeared on the court for the first time since November after a nine-game absence.

USC, though, was not without issues against the Cougars.

Forward Chimezie Metu was ejected late in the first half for swiping Washington State’s Carter Skaggs in the groin following a 3-point attempt, a sequence that could also draw a suspension for its conference road opener at Cal on Thursday.

After Skaggs hoisted a shot from the corner, Metu sprinted toward the 3-point arc in effort to contest the attempt. Rather than raising his arms to try a late block, Metu dropped his left arm to swipe in the direction of Skaggs’ crotch. The Cougars’ guard dropped to the court in some pain.

Officials reviewed the sequence and called a flagrant 2 foul on Metu, prompting his ejection with 5:43 left in the first half.

Enfield said in a news conference after the game that he had not yet seen a replay of Metu’s groin swipe.

“If it’s poor sportsmanship, we’ll address it,” Enfield said.

Without Metu, the Trojans went more than three minutes without a basket, until a jump shot by Jordan Usher, while Washington State went on an 11-0 run.

Before his ejection, Metu in 10 minutes had scored seven points, including a slam dunk on the possession prior to the ejection.

USC ended the first half on a quick spurt, closing with a 41-31 lead at halftime.

The Trojans shot 54 percent from the field, though only 25 percent from beyond the arc.