LOS ANGELES — WKU Hilltopper Basketball notched its first Pac-12 road victory in program history Monday night, advancing through the second round of the NIT with a 79-75 win at top-seeded USC.
The Hilltoppers (26-10) came back in the final four minutes, surging past the Trojans (24-12) to win multiple games in the NIT for the first time since 1948.
WKU advances to face second-seeded Oklahoma State on the road at 7 p.m. CT Wednesday in the quarterfinals on ESPN2.
Senior forward Justin Johnson led WKU with 23 points and six rebounds – passing Clem Haskins for 11th on the program’s all-time scoring list – while senior forward Dwight Coleby added 13 points and seven rebounds.
Coleby came up big with seven points in the fourth quarter, including two putbacks and the final emphatic dunk.
Redshirt junior guard Lamonte Bearden chipped in 11 points, seven rebounds, three steals and three assists, and freshman guard Josh Anderson scored 10 points. Freshman guard Jake Ohmer added eight points off the bench.
WKU used a 9-0 run late in the second quarter to pull in front and led 40-39 at the break.
The Hilltoppers stretched their lead to 57-50 with 1:43 to play in the third quarter, but a 14-2 USC run later made it 67-61 Trojans with 5:51 remaining in the game.
WKU punched back with seven straight points, including Coleby’s two putbacks, and the Hilltoppers went in front for good with 2:58 left on an alley-oop by Johnson.
The Hilltoppers made 16 of 17 free throws, while USC made 8 of 19. WKU scored 52 points in the paint and outrebounded the Trojans 32-27.
WKU’s 26 wins are its most since the 2007-08 Sweet 16 season.
USC Coach Andy Enfield got good support from his bench. Reserve Nick Rakocevic totaled 11 points and 10 rebounds. Elijah Stewart came off the bench to lead the Trojans (26-12) in scoring. Starters Jordan McLaughin and Jordan Usher had 13 points.
WKU Coach Rick Stansbury said after the game:
“(USC) had a terrific year. We knew we had to play awfully well to come in here and win. They’re awfully good here at home. You never know what you’re going to get out of these games exactly, or the mental approach you are going to have. Our guys came out again and had the right mental approach. We never let USC separate too much from us. We kind of hung around enough to keep it close.
“They did a really good job of keeping the ball out of the paint for us. That’s kind of one of our strengths. We didn’t get in there versus that zone as much as we normally do, so give them a lot of credit. Johnson and Darius Thompson jumped up and made plays when we had to make plays. Justin was terrific down that stretch, defensively too. Same way with Darius.
“It’s kind of what our team has been about all year long, different people step up and make big plays. Anytime you go on the road and win, anywhere, but particularly when it’s a really good USC team, I’m proud of these guys.”