Cougs let another Pac-12 game slip away

Cougars take down Idaho in battle of border rivals

LOS ANGELES — Byron Wesley scored 20 points and J.T. Terrell added 12 points before fouling out as USC held off Washington State 72-68 Thursday night.

Wesley sparked the Trojans early with 13 first-half points, but it was Terrell who ignited the Trojans (10-13, 5-5 Pac 12) when they needed it most. Terrell scored all 12 of his points during a 10-minute stretch of the second half. His 3-pointer with 5:26 left put USC up 56-53, and the Trojans held the lead the rest of the way.

Ari Stewart added 11 points for USC, and Jio Fontan had 10 points and a game-high 11 assists.

Washington State’s Brock Motum, who began the night ranked third in the Pac-12 averaging 18.3 points per game, scored 15 points on 6-of-16 shooting. DaVonte Lacy led all scorers with 21 points and his backcourt mate Mike Ladd had 16 for the Cougars (11-12, 2-8).