PULLMAN — Nikola Jovanovic led Southern California with 20 points and 12 rebounds as the Trojans opened Pac-12 Conference play with a 90-77 win over Washington State on Friday night.
Jordan McLaughlin added 19 points for the Trojans (12-2), who have won seven consecutive games. USC had lost 10 straight Pac-12 road games since winning March 6, 2014 at Washington State.
Josh Hawkinson led WSU (8-5) with 19 points and 13 rebounds. Ike Iroegbu, the only other Cougar with more than nine points, had 13.
USC led by 25 points three times in the first half before taking a 54-37 lead into the locker room. The 54 points in a half were a season high for USC and against Washington State.
McLaughlin, mixing jump shots with impressive drives to the basket, scored 16 points in the half on 7-for-9 shooting. Jovanovic, working inside, scored 14 points and sank all six of his field-goal attempts in the half.
Julian Jacobs scored 12 points for USC, and Katin Reinhardt and Elijah Stewart both had 11.
Stewart, coming off the bench for just the second time this season, scored nine unanswered points midway through the first half. Stewart’s outburst included a 3-point play when he stole an outlet pass from Hawkinson at midcourt and slammed home a dunk, fouled by Hawkinson. Stewart hung from the rim while his feet grazed Hawkinson’s head.
The Trojans led by 20 or more points much of the game. The Cougars pulled within 12 at 87-75 when Brett Boese sank a 3-pointer from the left corner with four minutes to go, but WSU did not score again until Hawkinson dunked with six-tenths of a second to go.
TIP-INS
USC: Point guard Julian Jacobs and forward Bennie Boatright started after being sidelined recently with a sore leg and back, respectively.
Washington State: The Cougars are 0-8 in conference openers since winning at Washington on Jan. 5, 2008.
UP NEXT
USC visits Washington on Sunday.
Washington State hosts No. 25 UCLA on Sunday.
