LOS ANGELES, CA — The USC Trojans paid homage to the late
great Kobe Bryant the best way anyone can… by getting a win. Big O, Onyeka Okongwu, comes up Big on D to
help the Trojans escape with a 56-52 victory over the Utah Utes Thursday night.
In game that was controlled by the Utes for the most part,
the Trojans relied on their Pac-12 leading defense to keep them in the contest,
holding the visitors to 32 percent shooting for the game and hoping the offense
can make plays.
“When you can’t score yourself, you better defend,” said
Trojans coach Andy Enfield. “We’ve done that and I’m very proud of our young
men for staying in the game and defending it for 40 minutes.”
The defense was especially crucial in the last meaningful
possession. With the Trojans holding a
slim 2-point lead, the Utes’ Timmy Allen drove the lane for a layup but was met
with an incredible block by Big O to force a jump ball. With the arrow in their favor, the Trojans
gained possession with 6.0 left on the clock.
As good as the defense was, you can’t win without scoring
baskets. Down by nine points midway through the second half, the Trojans
marched on a 15 -2 run to take its first lead of the game. Sophomore guard
Elijah Weaver called on the Mamba Mentality as he scored 10 of those points.
“I was just being aggressive,” said Weaver. “I think that’s
my new role. People have been talking about coming off the bench and bringing
energy. That’s all it was, energy and confidence.”
Both teams donned number 24 with Bryant on the back of their
warm-up shirts to honor the late Lakers legend. USC had the words “Fight On
Forever” above number 8 on the front side.
Prior to the singing of the National Anthem, the Galen Center crowd
stood for a moment of silence as 24.8 seconds ticked off the clock.
“We’re at home and today is a special day, we’re playing for
Kobe,” said Weaver. “So it was like ‘We’re not losing at home,’ it was in our
mind already. Let everybody know we’ve been here before and it’s time to fight
back.
Trojans got off to a cold shooting start as they only made 2
of its first 16 shots from the field and were down 16-6 midway through the
first half.
They continued to fight on and went on a hot run of shooting
where they made 5 of 6 shots and trimmed the deficit to three at 21-18. The
visiting Utes held a 29-23 lead at halftime, led by Riley Battin’s eight
points, including two from behind the three-point arc. Nick Rakocevic kept the
Trojans in the game with 12 points on 5 of 8 shooting.
The game was played dead even through the first 10 minutes
of the second half, as both teams scored 11 points on 4 of 14 shooting at one
point. Then the Trojans ratcheted up its defensive pressure, forcing five
straight misses and a turnover over the next four minutes of play.
Utes baskets by Branden Carslon and Timmy Allen drew the
game even at 46 a piece at the 4-minute timeout to set the stage for the
showdown at the end. The teams went tit
for tat on the scoreboard and were still tied when Carlson went to the free
throw line and missed both freebies with 42 seconds on the clock.
Big O caught a pass on the left block, took a hard dribble
to the right side for a layup that bounced off the rim. Luckily, by his own
recollection, the ball bounced right to Rakocevic for an easy put back to
secure the game-winning points. Big O was fouled with six seconds and iced the
game by making both free throws.
Rakocevic led the Trojans with 16 points and 12 rebounds.
Okongwu also had a double double of 11 points and 11 rebounds. Weaver finished
with 14 points.
USC is now 17-4 on the season, 6-2 in Pac-12 play. The face
the number 20 ranked Colorado Buffaloes, who just lost to UCLA.
