LOS ANGELES — After a night of maddening misses and scoring droughts, No. 17 USC still had a chance. With 20.3 seconds left against Washington State and the score tied, head coach Andy Enfield called timeout to draw up a play.

The in-bounds pass went to Boogie Ellis, who stood near mid-court for 12 seconds without dribbling. Only when Isaiah Mobley came to set a screen did Ellis begin to move, switching sides of the court. He then drove left until he got to the free-throw line and faded away.

The ball hit the back of the rim before going in, and what began as Senior Day ended as Boogie Night at the Galen Center, with USC escaping with a 62-60 win.

Ellis finished with a team-high 21 points, making both his 3-pointers and seven of eight free throws. Drew Peterson added 17 while Tyrell Roberts led the Cougars with 16.

Much of the first half was borderline unwatchable, which was in stark contrast to the first five minutes in which USC moved the ball seamlessly and got out to a 10-point lead.

But the Trojans ended the first half by missing 10 of 14 shots, some floaters clanking badly off the glass. The free-flowing offense that led to a season-high in assists on Thursday dried up, with USC failing to get an assist in the final 15 minutes of the half.

And the Trojans were completely out-worked in the half, with Washington State grabbing nine more rebounds and 10 offensive boards.

The Trojans were able to stay close thanks to their defense, limiting the Cougars to five second-chance points and to a 1-for-12 stretch in the middle of the period. But two Tyrell Roberts 3-pointers put the Trojans down four entering the locker room.

But it wasn’t much different for USC after coming out of the locker room for the second half. After back-to-back travels by Chevez Goodwin, the Trojans settled into an isolation pattern. A player would dribble and try to create a shot and when it wasn’t there, pass off to someone else for their turn.

So even with USC holding Washington State to 1-for-10 shooting to start the second half, the Trojans did nothing to build more than a two-point lead.

All seemed lost for the next 7:14 of the game, in which USC failed to score a field goal. In that span, Washington State was able to rip off an 11-1 run, making three 3-pointers. The last of those triples was a high-bouncing shot from Michael Flowers that rattled in to make it an eight-point Cougar lead.

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