After falling behind 19 points in the second half, Rutgers’ comeback attempt came up just short against USC. The Scarlet Knights had the ball and momentum with less than five seconds on the clock, but a last-second turnover would seal the 78-75 win for the Trojans.
Kaden Powers would open the scoring for Rutgers, putting the Knights up 2 to start the game. The beginning of the game would be a battle in the paint, as 8 out of the 10 total points scored in the first five minutes came from right underneath
the basket. Jacob Cofie would hit a two and one with around 14 and a half minutes left to play in the first half to put USC up 9-4. The Knights would struggle to muster up an efficient offense early on, falling behind 20-11 after 10 minutes of play.
Rutgers’ offense would start to pull itself together over the next five minutes; however, they would be unable to pull any closer due to their struggles to defend the paint. USC would finish the first half with 24 points in the paint and would go into the lockerroom up 40-30
Alijah Arenas would open the second half scoring with a three-pointer for the Trojans. USC’s three-point game would go on a brief hot streak as the Trojans raced out to a 51-32 lead before Rutgers head coach Steve Pikiell was forced to call a timeout with just over 16 minutes left to play in the game. The Knights would make several attempts to get back into the game, but would never seriously threaten USC’s lead until their was under two minutes left in the game. They would cut the Trojans’ lead all the way down to three, with Rutgers getting the ball back with around five seconds left, but a last-second turnover on Tariq Francis would seal USC’s victory.
This is the second time in five games that the Knights would fall behind by a sizeable margin before battling all the way back and falling just short. (Wisconsin) Rutgers needs to find a way to compete throughout the entire game to give itself a good shot to win at the end.
USC would dominate Rutgers in the paint throughout the game, finishing with 12 more points underneath the basket. They would also shoot 51 percent from the floor, compared to Rutgers 39 percent, and grabbed seven more total rebounds than the Knights.
Ezra Ausar would finish with 21 points, while Cofie picked up a double-double for the Trojans.
Despite the loss, the Knights did well in a few categories. They had nine fewer turnovers than USC, grabbed five more offensive rebounds, and scored 12 more second-chance points.
Dylan Grant recorded a double-double, scoring 14 points and grabbing 10 rebounds, while Francis once again led the team in scoring with 26 points.
Rutgers men’s basketball will be back in action on Tuesday, as they are set to stay in Los Angeles to take on UCLA. That game will tip off at 9:30 EST and will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network.
