Pep talk, passion, late run can't save Trojans in loss
LOS ANGELES >> It must've been a flash of deja vu for Bronny James, this 6-foot-0 jitterbug in an Oregongreen uniform dropping in every shot in the realm of possible imagination. And some that weren't, too.
In James' final year of high school at Sierra Can- yon, he matched up with highly touted West Linn freshman Jackson Shelstad during a tournament in Oregon — and came away disappointed as Shelstad went off for 38 points. The kid couldn't be stopped. West Linn won by 17.
Such it went, in the first half of a 78-69 loss to Oregon on Thursday night, that now-Duck Shelstad came out unconscious. The freshman scored the Ducks' first seven in front of a halfempty, morbid Galen Center, pulling Oregon out to an early lead. A few minutes later, he dropped in a nasty step-back 3 that single-handedly prompted a USC timeout, a perfect 6 for 6 from the floor for 15 points at that point, propelling the
THE SCORE OREGON 78, USC 69
Up next: Oregon State at USC, Saturday, 4 p.m., Pac-12 Network
SUMMARY
OREGON (15-6)
Dante 4-6 3-3 11, Couisnard 2-12 6-8 11, Oquendo 4-11 2-3 12, Shelstad 7-13 2-2 20, Tracey 3-9 2-2 11, Rigsby 1-7 2-2 5, Evans 3-7 1-1 8, Diawara 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-65 18-21 78.
USC (8-13)
Morgan 2-4 2-2 6, Page 4-6 0-0 8, Ellis 5-16 4-4 17, Johnson 1-9 0-0 2, Sellers 5-9 0-0 12, Rodman 2-5 0-0 6, James 2-5 0-0 6, Iwuchukwu 4-4 0-0 8, Wright 2-4 0-0 4. Totals 27-62 6-6 69.
Oregon 46-39;
Oregon 12-33 (Shelstad 4-6, Tracey 3-5, Oquendo 2-4, Evans 1-4, Rigsby 1-6, Couisnard 1-8), USC 9-26 (Ellis 3-11, James 2-2, Rodman 2-3, Sellers 2-3, Page 0-1, Johnson 0-6); Oregon 30 (Couisnard 7), USC 33 (Rodman 7);
Oregon 19 (Shelstad 6), USC 21 (James 7); Oregon 11, USC 18.
Halftime:
Assists:
3-Point Goals:
Rebounds:
Total Fouls:
Ducks to a 29-22 lead and sending the Trojans into another apparent death spiral.
In the huddle, USC assistant coach Chris Capko went ballistic. As coach Andy Enfield sat with clipboard in hand, his longtime righthand-man frustrated with USC's lackadaisical defensive effort he begun turning and roaring in players' faces. They hadn't defended like they could; they hadn't made shots like they could. And Capko's face grew red, trying to pour some passion into a group desperately needing a sense of urgency, mired in a five-game losing streak at the bottom of the Pac-12 and a near-lost season wrecked by injury.
And USC crumpled again. After igniting offensively, bigs Joshua Morgan and Arrinten Page both carrying three blocks into a sevenpoint halftime deficit, USC came out completely flat after the break. Perimeter defenders got caught in the gap, helpless to close out on a cavalry of Ducks shooters that finished 12 for 32 from 3. Bigs couldn't keep the Ducks from crashing the glass and earning extra possessions, a visibly tense Enfield waving his finger to the end of the bench to sub in Page and Morgan after Oregon's Kwame Evans Jr. grabbed a rebound.
USC was down by 14 at that point, with plenty of time remaining. But this game was already over. Shoulders drooped in the huddle, seemingly no life left. Galen had become a crypt. And any flash of USC momentum was identified and immediately snuffed in the second half, USC going on a run in the final minutes, snagging a steal down seven with a minute left — only for four shots to rim out and players left hunched over in a gut-punch of a loss.
New-found starters Oziyah Sellers and Arrinten Page gave USC a lift in the first half, each seizing opportunity and making individual cases for expanded roles as the Trojans close the year. Sellers, in particular, has provided much-needed offense in the wake of freshman point guard Isaiah Collier's hand injury, averaging better than 11 points a game since Collier went down and hitting a sweet baseline jumper to give USC a lift coming out of the Capkorant timeout. Page, a few plays after, nailed a tough turnaround jumper and flew down the floor for a monster block on Shelstad a few possessions later; he was perhaps the most active Trojan on the floor, scoring eight and tallying four blocks.
Sellers finished with 12 points, and James chipped in with a couple 3s and seven assists.