Recap: USC vs. Washington St

Los Angeles, CA (Sports Network) - Byron Wesley tallied 20 points and eight rebounds as the USC Trojans held off the Washington Cougars for a 72-68 victory in a Pac-12 Conference battle at the Galen Center.

Jio Fontan registered a double-double with 10 points and 11 assists for USC (10-13, 5-5 Pac-12), while J.T. Terrell and Ari Stewart scored 12 and 11 points, respectively.

DaVonte Lacy poured in a game-high 21 points to lead WSU (11-12, 2-8) as it fell below the .500 mark for the first time since Nov. 20. Mike Ladd added 16 points, Brock Motum scored 15, and Royce Woolridge finished with 10 points on 2-of-8 shooting from the field.

Wesley scored 13 of his points in the opening 20 minutes as USC shot 46.4 percent from the field and outscored the visitors, 18-10, in the paint. The Cougars managed to take a 33-30 lead into the intermission by draining 6-of-12 from beyond the arc in the first half.

WSU went cold after the break to hit on just 36.4 percent of its field goal tries while USC heated up to connect on 44 percent of its shots from the floor. After the Trojans took the lead, Lacy connected on a pair of free throws to even the score at 53. Terrell then drained a 3-pointer on USC's next possession to put the hosts on top for good.

Although WSU committed only six turnovers and the Trojans were guilty of 13 miscues, the Cougars only managed to hold a 12-11 advantage in points off of turnovers. USC's bench outscored the visitor's reserves, 17-2, as the Cougars suffered their third-straight loss.