USC men’s basketball had itself an impressive shooting night from behind the arc on senior night at Galen Center to secure its most dominant win of the season. The Trojans beat the Washington Huskies 92-61 and broke their previous five-game losing streak.
“This team needed a win,” USC head coach Eric Mussselman said. “Offensively, we were really good and then defensively, I thought we were phenomenal in the second half.”
From the tip off, both teams started off with perfect shooting from the field. Washington graduate center Franck Kepnang scored the first points of the game with a cut-and-dunk at the basket. Trojan junior guard Desmond Claude wasted no time driving straight into the paint to get USC on the board. The teams traded baskets until USC began to find its shot behind the arc.
USC graduate forward Rashaun Agee started the Trojans’ impressive shooting run with his first three of the game, putting USC ahead 8-7 at 15:48 in the half. Redshirt freshman guard Wesley Yates III joined with a three of his own. The Trojans shot an impressive 69.2% from the 3-point line and the duo of Agee and graduate guard Chibuzo Agbo combined for six threes in the first half.
After hitting threes on back-to-back possessions, Agbo put the Trojans on top, 27-15. Junior Husky guard Mekhi Mason was the catalyst for Washington staying in the game, with 14 points in the first half. Mason hit a three and USC had an empty possession on the offensive end, giving some momentum to the Huskies. However, graduate guard Clark Slajchert responded with a steal on the defensive end and a euro-step layup finish on the other end for USC.
The Trojans led for the rest of the half, even though their offense slowed. Their defense started to lose discipline and allowed the Huskies to get to the free-throw line multiple times towards the end of the half. The Huskies shot eight free throws to USC’s two.
Mason responded with back-to-back scoring possessions for Washington and, with 0:02 left in the half, senior forward Great Osobor made a 3-point shot and was fouled by Yates III. The potential four-point play had coach Musselman frustrated on the sideline, repeatedly going onto the court and yelling at the refs to explain the foul call. He was joined by thousands of fans at Galen Center who didn’t even believe Osobor got the shot off in time. Much of the anger was for naught, however, as Osobor missed the extra point at the line.
The Trojans went into the half leading 47-35 despite the momentum shifter of the last minute 3-point shot. USC had three players in double-digits, with Agee notching 13 points, Agbo putting up 11 and Claude securing 12 along with an impressive seven assists.
The second half started the same as the first — with a Kepnang dunk. However, USC picked up its pressure and attacked the Huskies with its defense. The Trojans held Washington to 39.1% shooting from the field while they shot 54.2%. USC also forced 16 turnovers and converted those for 21 points off turnovers.
After playing zone defense for most of the first half, the Huskies changed to a man defense and that encouraged Claude to live in the paint. The junior had an ecstatic second half with 13 points along with a 5-for-5 half from the free-throw line.
Washington did have a burst of momentum in the second half, chipping the lead to just eight points. Osobor sprinted down the court for an open layup in transition, while senior guard DJ Davis added a steal and a 3-point swish that forced Musselman into calling a timeout to calm down the Huskies.
And the Trojans did just that, with senior forward Saint Thomas working aggressively in the paint and getting to the free-throw line six times. With nine points on the night, Thomas had a career game, scoring his 1000th career point. Even though his night was cut short by fouling out, it was still an impressive achievement for the senior forward.
After a quiet beginning to the second half, Agbo began to catch fire from behind the arc again. He hit back-to-back threes with 8:24 left to grow USC’s lead to 71-54. It was then all Claude and Agbo for USC on the offensive end. Claude finished with a double-double — 25 points and 11 assists — and Agbo went 7-for-10 from three to finish with 26 points.
With no more hope for a Husky comeback, Musselman turned to his bench and honored his seniors, putting only graduating players on the court for the final two minutes of the game. The Galen Center fans rose to their feet and gave a standing ovation. Senior forward Harrison Hornery kept the fans on their feet when his first shot of the game was a 3-point make in front of the USC bench. It was quite a night for the 5,856 fans to witness an impressive dominant win by the Trojans.
“The win was super important, especially because we have those seven seniors and they always express the importance of winning,” Claude said. “It was kind of a balance, wanting to win for them, but also wanting to get out of the slump and getting back into the win column.”
This was a must-win game for the Trojans to keep their Big Ten Tournament chances alive. Their next game at Pauley Pavilion against crosstown rivals UCLA is another highly anticipated Big Ten matchup that will be crucial for USC to clinch a spot in the conference postseason.