Huskies Can't Hang with Tall Team Again, Get Muscled by USC

The University of Washington basketball team played hard. Led early. Wore down and disappeared. It happened against Arizona last weekend. Oregon before that. On Thursday night, USC had its turn.

In Los Angeles in a late-starting contest, the Huskies once again got manhandled by a taller team and lost 79-69 to the 17th-ranked USC Trojans in a game that wasn't nearly that close at the Galen Center.

Oh, for the wont of a UW big man.

Mike Hopkins' team simply doesn't have one who does much to make a difference. It's like continually playing 4-on-5. Sometimes it works. Against the good teams, no chance.

This time, USC's 6-foot-9 senior Chevez Goodwin scored 16 of his game-high 24 points in the opening half, alternately dunking and tossing in one-handers as he had his way with the Husky zone.

The UW (13-11 overall, 8-6 Pac-12) offered no one who could get in Goodwin's way or score on him at the other end.

The home team went up by 23 points before the Huskies narrowed things down the stretch with reserves playing.

The Husky forward had a big point night against USC.

PJ Fuller got up the court in a hurry.

Jamal Bey and USC's Drew Peterson battle for the ball.

Mike Hopkins and USC's Andy Enfield chat before the game.

USC cheerleaders do a routine.

Over the first 11 minutes of play, the Huskies made it a game with their modestly sized lineup, settling into a tie at 20 when reserve guard Cole Bajema hit a deep 3-pointer from well beyond the top of the key.

However, the Trojans (22-2, 11-4) immediately went on an 8-1 scoring binge to take control for good, this spurt capped by an emphatic two-hand dunk by Goodwin. The Columbia, South Carolina, native hit 8 of his first 10 shots, 11 of 14 for the game.

Goodwin was part of a towering USC front line that also consisted of 6-foot-10 junior Isaiah Mobley and 6-foot-9 junior Max Agbonkpolo. Mobley, wearing a protective mask for his broken nose, chipped in 12 points and 8 assists, often finding Goodwin free under the basket.

The Huskies countered with offense-challenged Nate Roberts, a 6-foot-11 junior who finished with 10 rebounds but a paltry 2 points on 1-of-3 shooting.

UW guard Terrell Brown Jr., the league's leading point-producer at 22.1 points per outing coming in, was a slow starter, failing to score for the first nine minutes. He still got loose for a team-high 23 points before he sat down.

Emmitt Matthews Jr, the Huskies' 6-foot-7 junior swingman, picked up the slack by scoring 10 of his team's first 15 points over the opening nine minutes. He finished with 20, one off his season high.

The Huskies were still in it with just under four minutes left in the opening half when PJ Fuller hit a running shot to pull his club within 31-23. Fuller started for the third consecutive game in place of the injured Daejon Davis.

USC next outscored Hopkins' guys 11-0 to the break and headed for the locker room with a commanding 42-25 advantage.

As with so many games before, the Huskies were left to play out the next half and try to keep the score down.

The teams had entered this, their only matchup of the season, with the all-time series tied at 75-75. There was no way the Trojans weren't going to move back in front.

The road through L.A. only gets more difficult for these short-handed Huskies. They face 13th-ranked UCLA (18-5, 10-4) across town at Pauley Pavilion on Saturday night in a game televised by FS1.

Another big team. Potentially another big loss. Not a lot to look forward to.

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