UW men again can’t get crucial stop as rally falls short in home loss to USC

SEATTLE – Down three points in the final minute, the Washington men’s basketball team needed a defensive stop to give itself a chance.

However, USC guard Isaiah Collier drove into the lane, spun around a defender and drained a contested jumper with 28 seconds left as the sold-out crowd of 9,294 at Alaska Airlines Arena let out a collective groan.

At the other end, the Huskies missed a couple of three-pointers, including a shot that was emphatically blocked and served as the final blow in an 82-75 defeat on Saturday afternoon.

Like so many games in a season that’s fallen short of expectations, the Huskies’ defense faltered when it mattered most and gave up another big performance to an opposing player.

This time, Collier provided most of the damage while scoring 31 points on 14-for-20 shooting.

Koren Johnson had 21 points off the bench and Keion Brooks Jr. finished with 20 for Washington, which fell to 16-14 and 8-11 in the Pac-12.

After 5½ minutes, the Huskies fell behind 15-5 and spent the next nine minutes clawing back into the game.

Johnson drained a three-pointer to gave UW its first lead at 27-25 near the end of a 9-0 run that put Washington ahead 29-25.

USC answered with a 10-3 spurt, though, before Brooks scored six unanswered points. The Huskies trailed 39-38 at halftime.

Washington fell behind by 10 points four times in the first 10 minutes of the second half and had difficulty slowing down Collier, as well as Boogie Ellis and DJ Rodman, each of whom had 17 points.

At times, UW coach Mike Hopkins opted for a small-ball lineup that had 6-foot-5 backup guard Anthony Holland in the post in place of 7-1 center Braxton Meah.

Down 71-56 with 6:11 left, Washington made one last push thanks to three-pointers from Johnson and Holland, fueling a 19-7 run and cutting its deficit to 78-75 with 50 seconds remaining.

Washington concludes the regular season with a road game Thursday at Washington State.