USC beats UCLA in the final seconds for second straight year

After trailing for the entire game against UCLA in Westwood on Saturday, including by double digits at several points, USC cut the lead to two with under a minute to go. Then, after UCLA junior guard Jules Bernard missed the front end of a one-and-one and a jump ball that kept possession with USC, sophomore guard Ethan Anderson was attempting to inbound the ball from the baseline with less than four seconds to go.

As USC got close to a five-second violation, Anderson found redshirt senior guard Tahj Eaddy in the corner. Eaddy rose up and hit a fadeaway 3-pointer over a Bruin defender with less than two seconds remaining to give USC a 64-63 victory.

Sometimes history is bound to repeat itself.

In 2020′s regular season finale against UCLA — and in the game that ended up as USC’s last of the season — the Trojans trailed by one when then-senior guard Jonah Mathews hit a stepback 3-pointer with one second remaining to give USC an incredible 54-52 victory over its crosstown rival.

“We were trying to get it to [freshman forward Evan Mobley] on an alley-oop,” Eaddy said about the final play. “They did a good job of guarding that. Then it was just about getting open. That wasn’t a designed play where I cut to the corner like that. It was just about trying to get [it in] before it was a five-second call because we cut it pretty close there. I am just thankful that it went in.”

The game was a tale of two halves. The Bruins dominated the first, shooting 60% from the field and holding an 11-point lead at halftime. But USC flipped the switch after the break, shooting 9-of-13 from the field to start the second half — a stark difference from the 42% it shot in the first half.

USC cut it to a one-possession game multiple times in the second half but was never able to take the lead until Eaddy’s final shot.

For Eaddy, the game-winner was an excellent end to a subpar shooting performance. Before that shot, he was 1-of-6 from 3-point range and had just nine points.

Eaddy said he did not let his struggles earlier in the game affect him in the final minutes.

“I was taught at an early age that great players have a short-term memory,” he said. “I know what I am capable of offensively. I know I can shoot and I know I can score. If shots aren’t falling I understand that I have to adjust … but my confidence will never waver.”

On the same day that Mobley was named a finalist for the John R. Wooden Award, which goes to the top player in college basketball, he had his 10th double-double of the season, scoring a team-high 13 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.

Along with Mobley and Eaddy, both junior guard Drew Peterson and redshirt senior forward Chevez Goodwin scored in double figures. The Trojans are now a perfect 18-0 when at least three players score in double digits.

Despite the win, USC’s offense was far from perfect. The Trojans once again struggled from behind the arc, a problem that has plagued them in their losses this season. Against UCLA, they went 4-of-16 from deep.

Head coach Andy Enfield said postgame that his team’s 3-point shooting is a concern.

“We have to be able to make [3-pointers],” he said. “The first 16 points tonight were [from] our interior players, so our guards have to step up and make shots.”

On the other end of the ball, the Bruins’ offense looked much improved since the two teams’ last meeting on Feb. 6, when they were held to 48 points. On Saturday, they came out hot, making eight of their first 10 shots.

UCLA also had four players reach double figures, led by sophomore forward Jaime Jaquez Jr., who scored 12.

The Bruins shot 51% overall and went 5-of-9 from 3-point range on the night.

This win gives the Trojans two straight heading into postseason play and keeps their hope alive for a Pac-12 regular season title. If Oregon loses Sunday against Oregon State, USC will be the Pac-12 champion.

Regardless of that outcome, USC will head to Las Vegas for the Pac-12 Tournament next week, where they have clinched a first round bye.