Jan. 31, 1998

Men's Basketball Tops WSU in Overtime

LOS ANGELES - Freshman Jeff Trepagnier blocked a shot to force overtime and then USC (7-12 3-6) pulled away for a thrilling 75- 69 victory against Washington State in front of 2,681 at the L.A. Sports Arena.

Coach Henry Bibby's freshman class carrried the load in a win that stopped a four-game losing streak and stretched to three a winning streak against the Cougars.

Guard Kevin Augustine scored 15 points and grabbed 7 rebounds in 37 minutes.

Scoreless in the first half, 6-9 Center Greg Lakey hit the team's first four field goals in the second period to finish with 14 and a team-high 8 rebounds.

Defensive star Trepagnier added 8 points, 6 rebounds and a highlight slam off of an alley-oop pass from Augustine.

A fourth freshman, 6-6 foward Shannon Swillis, grabbed 6 rebounds and blocked 4 shots.

WSU (8-11 1-7) was led by Carlos Daniel with 22 points. The Trojans' defense forced 20 turnovers and limited the Cougars to just 37 percent shooting from the field.

Revitalized by the freshmen, USC begins the second half of Pac-10 play next week with a trip to the Oregon schools.

Quotes

USC Henry Bibby - "The guys played their hearts out. The freshmen were very, very good. I've decided we'll go a little more with the younger guys. They were playing consistent. The (young) guys are coming around. There's a lot more of the season to go."

On Greg Lakey - "He was a big factor on the boards. He's only 190 pounds. We want to put 20 pounds on him and see if he's a bigger factor inside. He can shoot from the top of the key."

USC Guard Kevin Augustine - "When I push the ball up the floor it opens up opportunities. I guess I'm starting to play better basketball. I'm starting to feel more comfortable on the court."

Notes

USC is playing the 2nd toughest schedule in the Pac-10 and 11th toughest in the nation, according to USA Today.