USC
Washington State
Trojans Rally to Edge WSU
January 24, 2009 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 24, 2009
PULLMAN, Wash. (AP) - Daniel Hackett scored 14 points and Taj Gibson added 12 points and 12 rebounds as Southern California edged Washington State 46-44 Saturday in a Pac-10 game.
The Trojans (13-6, 4-3) rebounded from a 78-73 loss to Washington Thursday night in Seattle.
Freshman Klay Thompson had 15 points and, Aron Baynes had 12 points and nine rebounds for the Cougars (11-8, 3-4).
With 49 seconds to go, Marcus Johnson made a jump shot to give USC a 42-41 lead and the Trojans scored a basket on a Cougars' turnover with 15 seconds left for a 3-point lead.
Thompson had a layup blocked by Taj Gibson with 10 seconds left that would have brought the Cougars to within two points. Hackett then hit one of two free throws and Taylor Rochestie hit a meaningless three-pointer at the buzzer.
Washington State led 19-18 at halftime and was ahead most of the second half, holding a 5-point lead with five minutes to play.
Rochestie, the Cougars' leading scorer, didn't score in the opening half and contributed only six points.
