Los Angeles, CA- The University of Southern California Trojans (9-13,3-8 Pac 12) ended their six-game losing streak after defeating Oregon State (11-11,3-8 Pac 12) 82-54 at the Galen Center.
DJ Rodman’s career-high 14 rebounds and 12 points double-double helped the Trojans dominate the boards with a 44-24 advantage. Rebounding had been a sore spot for USC during their losing streak. Still, they responded strongly after getting called out publicly by their Head Coach Andy Enfield after their last loss against Oregon University on Thursday.
“It’s frustrating when you get outrebounded every game and we have been lately, and tonight I thought we showed a lot of toughness defensively, Enfield said. “First of all to make them miss and then secondly to try to rebound the ball. I thought we were flying around on defense, meaning we were rotating, we had energy and we also showed some toughness. So I was proud of our guys.”
USC came out playing an inspired brand of basketball. The Trojans were moving the ball around on offense, playing scrappy defense, and jumped out to an early 18-8 lead. Getting contributions from everyone, USC shot 50% from the field in the first half on 14-28 shooting and led 38-23 at halftime.
“We just knew. USC doesn’t lose six games in a row “ Harrison Hornery said when speaking on the Trojan’s confidence heading into the game. “We don’t lose two in a row. We had to break the streak. The fans are disappointed, the school’s disappointed in us, so we had to come out and prove ourselves.”
The Beavers struggled offensively shooting 39% from the field and making 9 of 23 attempts.
Multiplayers scored in double figures for USC. Hornery led the charge off of the bench and led the Trojans in scoring with 14 points. Kijani Wright and Oziyah Sellers both added 12. USC bench outscored OSU bench 47-16.
Reigning Pac-12 Player of the Week Jordan Pope scored 14 points for the Beavers and led them in scoring.
During the second half, OSU continued to struggle with their shooting, posting a 31% field goal percentage on 9 of 29 shooting. The Beavers concluded the game with an underwhelming overall shooting performance, making only 34% of their attempts by converting 18 of 52 shots.
USC dominated the paint finishing with a 40-16 advantage over OSU in points inside the paint. The Trojans went 16-33 from the field with a shooting percentage of 48% in the second half. USC finished the game shooting 49% from the floor on 30-61 shooting.
Southern California will now prepare for two games in the Bay Area as they wish to salvage their season with 9 games remaining until the Pac-12 Tournament.
