USC vs. WSU basketball final score: Cougs smack around Trojans, 76-51

Washington State completed a highly-successful final homestand by blowing out the USC Trojans, 76-51, at Beasley Coliseum on Saturday afternoon. Brock Motum was the star for his final game on Friel Court, pouring in 31 points and adding 10 rebounds.

The Cougars came out hot for the second-straight game, led by 21 first-half points from Motum. They built a 39-20 halftime lead on the strength of tough defense, solid offensive rebounding, and some timely three-point shooting.

USC responded with a big run to start the second half. It didn't take long for the Trojans to cut WSU's lead to five, but that was as close as the game would be.

With the help of four second-half threes from Royce Woolridge, WSU would eventually build its advantage back to 19, and then some. For the second-straight game, they didn't relinquish a lead and held on down the stretch.

Taking care of the ball was huge for WSU. The Cougs turned it over just four times, or on just eight percent of possessions. They also grabbed 38 percent of available offensive rebounds. On the other end, they corralled 77 percent of USC's misses.

Woolridge added 25 to of his own to go along with Motum's 31, to go along with a surprising seven boards. The two combined to outscore the Trojans by themselves.

Couldn't have had a better finish to the regular season, with back-to-back wins over the L.A. schools. The Cougs will now get Washington for a third time next Wednesday as the No. 11 seed. Yay for not last place!