USC offense comes alive late to edge past Vermont

About five minutes into the second half on Tuesday night, the USC men’s basketball team appeared to be in dire straits. The Trojans offense had a very poor first half, and early in the second, it looked like more of the same as the Vermont Catamounts built an eight point lead.

However, as the game progressed, the offensive floodgates finally opened up just enough for USC to earn a 59-57 comeback win at Galen Center.

Absolutely nothing was falling for the Trojans in the opening frame; sophomore guard Reese Dixon-Waters, who was 3-for-6 from the field in the first half, was the only Trojan with over two shot attempts to hit at least 50% from the floor. The rest of the team shot a combined 4-for-21 in the first 20 minutes.

While USC’s 22 first half points were the fewest it had scored in a half this season, Vermont was not much better. The Catamounts struggled in particular with the three point shot, shooting 1-for-9, and could not take advantage of many of the long scoring droughts the Trojans experienced. For instance, when USC missed seven of its first eight shots from the field, Vermont made just two of its first nine. The Catamounts were just slightly more effective than the Trojans, entering halftime with a five point lead.

The end of the first half leading into the start of the second was when USC struggled the most as a team, a stretch where the Trojans shot 1-for-17 in over thirteen minutes. The end of that stretch is when the team finally came alive.

Led by fifth year guard Drew Peterson, USC ripped off a 8-0 run to tie the game midway through the second. Peterson’s shots that had not been falling early on finally began to drop, as he scored 15 of his team-leading 20 points in the final 14 minutes. Peterson thrived from mid-range in the second half, using his length to counter tight defense and get to the basket. Peterson had seven shot attempts in each half, making just one in the first and five in the second.

“I thought Drew played very controlled,” head coach Andy Enfield said after the game. “He made the right decisions, made the right plays. He had eight assists and no turnovers, and in the first game, he had six turnovers. That was a big difference, that was six extra possessions that we had tonight just from him. Also he was able to score the ball.”

Senior guard Boogie Ellis also stepped up his game in a critical way. After a two point first half performance, the senior guard reached double-figures in the second despite falling into foul trouble and knocked down big shots. With 1:20 left, Ellis caught a cross-court pass from Peterson at the wing and promptly nailed a three pointer that doubled the USC lead to six points, its largest of the entire game.

The Trojans scored 15 more points in the second half than in the first, improving their shooting from the floor by over 20%, from 25.9% to 46.2%.

“All credit to my teammates,” Peterson said. “We had Boogie hit the biggest shot of the game on the three I kicked to him. We have guys ready to shoot. There’s trust across the board, I know we’re shooting poor right now, but we have a team that can shoot the ball. We showed that at the end, and we’re gonna keep working.”

Vermont relied on its seven three-pointers to keep up with the Trojans in the second half. Fifth year guard Finn Sullivan’s three with 52 seconds left brought the game right back to one possession after Ellis’ shot.

USC could not cash in on its next offensive possession despite grabbing two offensive boards, and Vermont got the ball back with the shot clock off and a chance to tie the game. However, an awkward three point shot by Sullivan failed with seven seconds to go, and sophomore guard Kobe Johnson made two key free throws to put the game away.

Despite shooting under 65% percent on their free throws in their first two contests, free throw shooting was one of the Trojans’ biggest strengths tonight. The team made 18-of-23 from the line, and in such a tight game, all those points mattered.

“Our free throw shooting was outstanding,” Enfield said. “First of all, we got to the line a lot. I thought we were aggressive, especially in the second half where we were able to drive the ball, get fouled, and put pressure on the defense. Then, we were able to make them when they counted.”

Despite the frustrating offensive output at times, USC was still able to grind out the victory in its first game of the year decided by single digits.

“I see this as a net positive,” Enfield said. “We can learn from this, we can build on it, and we need to get better. We have a young team where guys are trying to find their roles. … Now, it’s an adjustment period for our players. … We’re patient with them and very encouraging with them, so hopefully, we’ll build on this win and get better.

The Trojans improve to 2-1 with the win. They will wrap up their four game home stand Friday night against the Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers.