It wasn't the easiest play, but it could have been made. Instead, the bounce pass slipped through Alex Stepheson's hands and went out of bounds.

The late second half mistake was a microcosm of the Trojans' performance.

USC (8-6, 0-1) lost 73-67 in overtime to Washington (9-3, 0-1) in a game it could have, maybe even should have, won. The Trojans started conference play with a 16-4 run to open the game but struggled shooting the ball from the outside down the stretch.

The game was there for the taking, but it slipped right through USC's hands.

"We played hard and fought to the end," said Nikola Vucevic. "But there were a couple of things we didn't do at the end and it cost us."

-- BREAKING IT DOWN --

Key moment: With USC trailing 68-64 with 29 seconds left in overtime, Washington's Venoy Overton strolled to the free throw line. One of the Huskies' better free throw shooters, Overton missed both freebies.

But even more inexplicably, USC seniors Donte Smith and Marcus Simmons let the rebound of the second shot bounce between them, both thinking the other was going to grab it. Instead, Overton snatched the ball and was fouled intentionally once again.

This time, Overton knocked down both free throws.

A block on the other end by Justin Holiday effectively ended the game.

Player of the game: Nikola Vucevic. The 6-foot-10 Montenegrin was in beast mode all night.

"Vucevic is an absolute nightmare," Washington coach Lorenzo Romar said. "He is a really good player, an NBA player if I've ever seen one."

He scored on the inside, from the outside and particularly from the charity stripe. Vucevic scored a career-high 28 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including a pair of 3-pointers. Even more impressive, he knocked down 14 free throws...on 14 attempts. He also grabbed 14 rebounds -- one shy of his season high.

"Their defense was based around guarding Nik," said USC coach Kevin O'Neill. "For him to have 28 and 14 in that situation, says a lot about him."

Most Spectacular Play: There were only six seconds remaining in overtime and the game was all but decided. But Jio Fontan never stopped playing and produced the most incredible play of the game, even if it wasn't the most impactful.

Washington led 71-64 and was guarding against any and all 3-pointers, so Fontan drove the ball into the lane. Getting in amongst the trees, Fontan jumped into the body of Washington's Darnell Gant, drawing a foul on Gant.

With the bump, Fontan's body turned horizontal, forcing him into an awkward landing on his left side. However, as he was thrown sideways in mid air, he flung the ball up off the backboard and into the basket. Fontan knocked down the free throw to finish with 14 points.

Unsung Hero: Alex Stepheson. He finished the game with a respectable eight points and eight rebounds, but Stepheson had a much bigger presence in the game.

He blocked a pair of shots on the defensive end. He played 43 of a total 45 minutes -- the most of any player. And in the two minutes Stepheson wasn't on the court, Washington went on a sudden 6-0 run.

"Step It Up:" The Trojans have to shoot better from the perimeter or they can expect to see teams pack in the interior defense throughout conference play.

The only thing worse than their 34.5 field goal percentage was the Trojans' 23.8 percent shooting from 3-point range. The players USC needs to knock down outside shots were cold for the entire game.

Donte Smith was 2-of-7 from the floor. He had more airballs (three) than 3-pointers (one).

Marcus Simmons didn't show confidence in his shot. After missing a couple of jump shots early in the game, he never even looked toward the basket when the ball was swung to him. He finished 1-of-6 from the field.

Freshmen Maurice and Bryce Jones combined to shoot 3-of-12 with seven misses from deep.

"We struggled because we missed. They're making threes and we're missing...especially in clutch times," O'Neill said. "I thought we got pretty good shots."

Key stat: 49. That's the dramatic number of fouls called. Only twice this season have 40 or more fouls been called in a USC game. But in the second half, USC and Washington got into a physical battle. Three Huskies and one Trojan fouled out.

Washington starting center Aziz N'Diaye fouled out in only 14 minutes of action. Eight other players recorded at least three fouls, including every starter except for Huskies' point guard Abdul Gaddy.

Sixty-three free throws were shot, led by Vucevic's 14 attempts.

The bountiful whistles were enough to get the loudest crowd of the season into a frenzy, especially the Washington supporters, who represented approximately 40 percent of the fans in attendance. Presumably, the large Huskies' following had to do with the university's football team playing in the Holiday Bowl in San Diego on Thursday.

Sideline Strategy: It seemed coach Kevin O'Neill was limited in how much he could substitute due to the Huskies decided size advantage at the guard position.

"They took advantage of their size. Venoy [Overton] twice at the end took it at Mo [Jones]," O'Neill said.

USC's starting lineup featured Maurice Jones at 5-foot-7 and Jio Fontan at 6-foot. But with defensive stopper Marcus Simmons guarding 5-foot-9 Isaiah Thomas, Fontan was forced to guard 6-foot-6 Justin Holiday.

O'Neill barely used his smallest three-guard lineup, featuring Mo Jones, Fontan and 5-foot-11 Donte Smith -- a lineup that has been very successful for USC in the three games since Fontan became eligible to play.

"They posted Jio two or three times," O'Neill said. "They have more depth than we do -- more experienced depth."

USC's limited depth showed when O'Neill tried to rest Alex Stepheson or Nikola Vucevic. Both times that happened, the Trojans went with a small lineup (moving Simmons to the "4" position), Washington went on a run.

Where They Stand: USC knew it would be tough to get off to an early start in conference play. The first three conference games are against teams picked to finish in the upper half of the Pac-10. Washington, Washington St. and UCLA will all vie for consideration for an at-large bid for the NCAA Tournament. However, all three games are being played at home.

It was imperative for USC to come out of the gates gunning after an 8-5 non-conference record (including bad losses to Bradley, Rider, TCU and Nebraska). An overtime loss to a quality opponent may be a moral victory, but moral victories don't get you into the field of 68.

The Trojans are in a near must-win situation on Friday when they host Washington St. in a midday New Year's Eve affair. Falling to 0-2 in conference play is bad, but even worse if both of those losses come on the Trojans' home court.

"When it gets right down to it, we really have no choice," O'Neill said about rebounding from the loss. "I have great confidence that our team will bounce back and play a great game. That's our job. That's what we're going to do."

To reach Shotgun Spratling, click here, or follow him on Twitter @BlueWorkhorse.

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