The USC men’s basketball team trailed by 15 points with 15:40 remaining in the second half Wednesday night at Cal, causing many to think the game was all but over. But freshman guard Isaiah Collier had other plans, scoring 17 points during the final 15 minutes of regulation.
Collier took to the free throw line with 27.7 seconds remaining, trailing by one, with a chance to give the Trojans their first lead since the five-minute mark of the first half. He made the first one easily to tie it, but his second attempt rimmed out and into the hands of the Golden Bears. Moments later, Cal junior guard Jaylon Tyson wound up missing a forced 3-pointer as time expired.
In overtime, the Trojans did all they could, but two clutch 3-pointers from Cal’s Tyson and junior guard Jalen Celestine within the final 91 seconds put it out of reach for USC, who fell 83-77.
The loss keeps USC (9-14 overall, 3-9 conference) in dead last in the Pac-12, while moving Cal (10-13, 6-6) into a tie for seventh place with Stanford after its loss to UCLA Wednesday. The loss is also the first time the Trojans have lost to the Golden Bears since 2017, breaking an 11-game head-to-head win streak for USC.
In what could have been, or should have been, another bounceback game for the Trojans, who defeated Oregon State Saturday for their first win since January 6, USC could not find any sort of cohesion.
Instead, the Trojans looked sloppy on both sides of the ball early, late and, quite frankly, in overtime as well. They missed countless layups and short bunnies, got outrebounded by an astonishing 54-27 margin and missed nine total free throws on the night. The Trojans missed seven shots from within the four-foot arc.
Head coach Andy Enfield was frustrated by his team’s inability to effectively rebound the ball, especially after USC’s 44-rebound night against Oregon State four days prior.
“It’s frustrating when you guard for 20 or 25, or sometimes 29 seconds, and they miss their shot and get the offensive rebound, kick it out and make a 3 or run 20 more seconds off the clock,” Enfield said. “It’s something that has been challenging for us at times this year.”
The game wasn’t solely USC’s for the taking, however. In reality, the Golden Bears made shots late when it mattered.
Leading by just two points with 1:58 remaining in regulation, Cal graduate guard Jalen Cone hit a massive 3-pointer to keep the Golden Bears in the driver’s seat. Multiple other Cal players came up clutch in the second half and in overtime, connecting on four different 3-pointers with less than three seconds remaining on the shot clock each time.
The main reason the Trojans were even in the game late was Collier’s dominant second-half performance. The Georgian scored all 20 of his total points in the second half and overtime combined, as he was unable to connect whatsoever in the first half during his limited playing time.
Enfield chalked up Collier’s first half to being “rusty” after missing four weeks of games.
“He was terrific; he gave great energy defensively,” Enfield said. Without Collier, the Trojans have struggled immensely at times.
Since his hand injury on January 10 during a game against Washington State, the Trojans have posted a 1-5 record and have averaged just less than 66 points – USC averaged almost 78 before his injury.
Another notable Trojan performance came from DJ Rodman, who had somewhat of a breakout game against Oregon State last week, when he tallied 12 points and 14 rebounds. Against Cal, he netted 7-of-9 shots, including three 3-pointers, for 17 points off the bench. Rodman only grabbed two boards Wednesday night, as freshman guard Bronny James led USC with five total.
Cal had three players with 15 or more points, including Cone (20), Tyson (27) and graduate forward Fardaws Aimaq (15), who recorded a double-double with 20 rebounds.
USC now moves to 0-3 in close games (games decided by six or less points) this season, including an 0-2 record in overtime games. Cal has won four of its last five games, Including a 2-0 record in overtime during that stretch.
The Trojans continue their Northern California road trip at Stanford at Maples Pavilion Saturday at 7 p.m.