They call it March Madness for a reason.
With 35 seconds left in the Pac-12 Tournament semifinal and down by three, USC redshirt senior guard Tahj Eaddy completed a dazzling and-one play. The free throw was good, tying the game with the Buffaloes at 70.
But ultimately, the Trojans ran out of time to complete their comeback. Senior guard/forward D’Shawn Schwartz won the game for the Buffaloes, slamming home a putback dunk with just 3.3 seconds remaining.
USC attempted a last-second play to potentially win, but didn’t have enough time to set up their play. The Trojans turned the ball over in their last attempt and the Colorado Buffaloes advanced to the conference championship game with a 72-70 victory.
Though it didn’t end up in their favor, the Trojans put together a thunderous comeback to nearly take this game.
“We had better flow and better pace offensively,” Eaddy said postgame. “… As the game progressed we settled in a little bit, and got into a good groove.”
Each team’s star player brought their A-game in this contest.
Colorado senior guard McKinley Wright IV caught fire from the field, shooting 9-of-16 en route to his team-high 24 points. USC Pac-12 Player of the Year Evan Mobley showcased his entire offensive arsenal, scoring a game-high 26 points on a variety of jumpshots, dunks and free throws.
“We played very hard tonight,” USC head coach Andy Enfield said. “We got back in the game, we tied it up … I was very proud of our team, how we fought back at the end.”
The first half of play was a hard-fought, scrappy stretch of basketball. There were a couple technical fouls called, each team received warnings for flopping, and Wright IV went back to the locker room after an elbow to the head from USC redshirt senior forward Chevez Goodwin.
Colorado put together a 17-0 run during the first half, holding the Trojans scoreless for seven minutes.
Evan Mobley was the only bright spot for USC, scoring 17 of the Trojans’ 30 points at halftime. He was one of four Trojans to score during the first half of play. In addition to tying his career high in points, Mobley displayed his unbelievable defensive abilities, swatting five shots and pulling down nine rebounds.
“He exerts so much energy on both sides of the ball. Very proud of Evan and his development, he’s really improved as a player throughout the season,” Enfield said. “We’re going to need him to play at this level starting at the end of this week.”
During the second half of play, the Trojan shooters rose to the occasion. Junior guard Drew Peterson helped chip away at Colorado’s lead, scoring all nine of his points to close the deficit to two points.
Senior forward Jeriah Horne single-handedly halted the Trojans’ comeback, going on an 8-0 run himself with less than five minutes remaining. Horne scored 14 of his 19 points in the second half, with 12 coming from beyond the arc. He entered the game as the fourth-best 3-point shooter in the conference, scoring at a 43.5% clip.
USC led the Pac-12 in rebounds with 39.9 rebounds a game, but lost the rebound battle to Colorado in all three of their three losses to the Buffaloes. Colorado’s winning play came on an offensive rebound after a quality defensive stop.
Looking ahead, Enfield knows the most important games are yet to come.
“It’s a new season,” he said. “Everybody is going to be one and done once we get to Indianapolis … every possession will matter.”
The Trojans will wait to see their March Madness seeding on Selection Sunday, while the Buffaloes will look to win their first the Pac-12 Tournament championship since 2012 on Saturday against Oregon State.