USC holds off pesky Idaho State to earn second win

Early in the season it is sometimes just about that you win and less about how you do it.

USC held a lead for a majority of Thursday night’s matchup at Galen Center, but it didn’t always feel like it. The Trojans had a battle on their hands in the second game of the season as Idaho State simply wouldn’t go away no matter what Eric Musselman and his team came up with Thursday.

Eventually, a productive performance from Josh Cohen and enough offensive production from his teammates proved to be enough for USC to move to 2-0 on the year with a 75-69 victory over the Bengals.

Cohen shined for much of the evening en route to a 19-point performance for the UMass transfer big man, who connected on 8 of his 12 shot attempts in the game.

Ultimately, it was newcomer Saint Thomas who sealed the win for the Trojans after hitting a key 3-pointer with 18 seconds left to play. Thomas, who played the point guard role for much of his time on the floor for the shorthanded Trojans, made both of his 3-pointers in the game and finished with 10 points and 9 assists.

Towards the end of the game Thomas played without a protective mask he’s been wearing to help him avoid being hit in the face as he works through a broken nose. The Northern Colorado transfer was uncomfortable wearing the mask, so he opted to go without it down the stretch which proved to be a beneficial move for the Trojans.

“It was just very difficult to see out there, and it’s been bothering me the past couple games,” he said. “I knew I was gonna have to step up big, either hit a big shot or some free throws, so I decided that I just had to take off the mask. Hopefully I wasn’t gonna get hit, but I had to take it off.”

Thomas handled the big shot with his late 3-pointer, but it was his teammates who stepped up at the free-throw line with a few clutch makes late on an otherwise forgettable evening for the Trojans from the line.

USC missed 12 free throws in the game, but 12 of its 22 makes in the game from the line came over the final 12…

Source link : https://usc.rivals.com/news/usc-holds-off-pesky-idaho-state-to-earn-second-win?yptr=yahoo

Author : Trojan Sports

Publish date : 2024-11-08 07:07:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.