Galen Center

This was unusual. With 35.8 seconds left in the game and Jio Fontan at the foul line, USC's basketball team earned a standing ovation. After racing to a large early lead, surviving some nervous time with Fontan on the bench with four fouls and letting its big advantage dwindle into single digits, USC beat Washington, 71-60, Sunday night at the Galen Center. This gave the Trojans (11-13, 6-5 Pac-12) their first three-game winning streak of the season and tied them for fifth in the conference.

When: 7. Where: Galen Center. On the air: TV: FSN; Radio: 710. Records: USC 10-13, 5-5; Washington, 13-10, 5-5. Update: Washington and USC were in a five-way tied for fifth place in the Pac-12 Conference, which indicates how evenly matched so many teams in the league are. While the first four - Arizona, Arizona State, Oregon and UCLA - seem on their way to receiving some sort of NCAA tournament bid (automatic or at-large)...

A week and a day after getting its signature win of the year with an upset of UCLA, USC almost earned its signature loss of this basketball season. The Trojans played with little passion Thursday night but used some second-half quick-strike ability from guard J.T. Terrell to escape Galen Center with a 72-68 Pac-12 Conference win over Washington State. Byron Wesley led the Trojans with 20 points and eight rebounds. Terrell finished with 12 points before he fouled out and center DeWayne Dedmon had a team-high 10 rebounds.

USC VS. WASHINGTON STATE When: 8:30. Where: Galen Center. On the air: TV: Pac-12 Network; Radio: 710. Records: Washington State, 11-11, 2-7 in Pac-12 play; USC, 9-13, 4-5. Update: Six of Washington State's 11 losses this season have been by seven points or less, and that includes a two-point defeat to No. 6 Gonzaga. Senior Brock Motum, a 6-foot-10 forward, averages team highs of 18.3 points and 6.7 rebounds. He has scored in double figures in all 22 games this season and he is third in the Pac-12 in scoring and 14th in the conference in rebounding.

About an hour before tipoff against Oregon State on Saturday, Bob Cantu stood outside USC's locker room at the Galen Center attempting to recall the keypad sequence to gain entry. Cantu eventually got inside — and then the Trojans' interim coach came up with the right combination for his first victory. It wasn't exactly how Cantu drew it up — the Trojans blowing a 15-point lead in the second half — but USC executed when it counted and won, 69-68. "It feels great," Cantu, a USC assistant for 12 seasons, said of earning his first victory.

When: 5 p.m. Where: Galen Center. On the air: TV: Pac-12 Networks; Radio: 710. Records: USC 7-11, 2-3; Oregon State 10-7, 0-4. Update: USC took No. 21 Oregon into the final 30 seconds Thursday night but missed three shots on its final possession - two from close range - and lost, 76-74. Had the Trojans not missed 12 of their 32 free throws, interim Coach Bob Cantu might have had his first victory. Still, it was an encouraging performance that could help the Trojans against Oregon State.

Fourteen games and the Pac-12 tournament. That's how many opportunities Bob Cantu had to impress USC Athletic Director Pat Haden - and other possible employers - when USC's interim basketball coach sent the Trojans onto the floor against Oregon on Thursday night at the Galen Center. Cantu might have requested a less formidable opponent than No. 21 Oregon in his first game. The Trojans were close at halftime and hung with the Ducks to the final seconds before guard Jio Fontan missed a three-pointer and forwards Eric Wise and Dewayne Dedmon missed follows, sending the Trojans to a 76-74 defeat.

J.T. Terrell had good moments with Kevin O'Neill and not so good ones. He went from being USC's leading scorer this season to spending entire games on the bench. Terrell is a junior guard who is in his first season on the Trojans basketball team after transferring from Wake Forest, but he summed up his coach as well as anyone Monday, a few hours after O'Neill was fired. "KO, any day of the week, is just priceless," Terrell said. "You never know what you're going to get. " USC has a record of 7-10 this season, O'Neill's fourth.

BOULDER, Colo. - Josh Scott scored 14 points and Askia Booker had 12 to help Colorado end a skid at two games by holding off USC, 66-60, on Thursday night. The Trojans (6-10, 1-2 Pac-12) will have to keep searching for a road win. USC has dropped 14 consecutive games away from the Galen Center. Eric Wise finished with 16 points for the Trojans, who haven't won on the road since Nov. 30, 2011, at UC Riverside. The Buffaloes (11-4, 1-2) ran their home record to 7-0. After a fast start by USC to open the game, the momentum began to shift late in the first half when Jio Fontan hobbled off the court.

Missed free throws, so many lost chances. A half spent getting badly outrebounded, more lost chances. Bad shooting, blown layups, chances lost over and over. The mistakes added up to a 72-64 loss for USC against California in a Pac-12 Conference game Saturday night at the Galen Center. The defeat brought to a stop a slight hint of momentum for the Trojans (6-9, 1-1), who had won two games in a row and were aiming for a 2-0 conference start for only the second time in 11 seasons.