Boatwright sets USC record for 3s in 89-66 win over Cal

BERKELEY, Calif. — Bennie Boatwright scored 36 points and set a USC school record with 10 3-pointers in an 89-66 win over California on Saturday night.

Nick Rakocevic added 12 points and 11 rebounds, and Kevin Porter Jr. scored 14 to help the Trojans (14-12, 7-6 Pac-12) end a threegame losing streak.

Boatwright was stellar all night and shot 12 of 19 while finishing one point shy of his career high set earlier this season. He went 10 of 13 beyond the arc to break the previous USC record of nine shared by Anthony Pendleton (1987) and Katin Reinhardt (2015).

Trojans coach Andy Enfield initially pulled Boatwright with 12:07 left in the second half with the senior having made nine 3s. But Boatwright checked back in with 8:07 remaining and missed one 3 before nailing the record-setting shot four minutes later to put USC ahead 87-56.

Boatwright went back to the bench moments later and exchanged high-fives with coaches and teammates.

Justice Sueing scored 17 points and Matt Bradley added 14 for California (5-20, 0-13). The Golden Bears have lost 14 straight and are headed for back-to-back 20-loss seasons for the first time in school history. Both have come under coach Wyking Jones.

Coming off a 79-76 loss at Stanford when they were outscored 7-0 in the final 44.2 seconds, the Trojans never trailed and led by 31 to complete the season sweep of Cal. USC’s win was its second in eight conference road games this season.

USC: Boatwright was phenomenal and made his big night look relatively easy against a Cal defense that repeatedly left him open for uncontested shots. Porter followed Boatwright’s lead while helping anchor the Trojans’ perimeter attack. It was also a big win for USC, which entered the day in a fourway tie for sixth place in the Pac-12.

California: The Bears were coming off a gritty effort in a loss to UCLA three days earlier but showed none of that in another lopsided loss. Sueing has been fairly consistent most of the season and had another solid night, but Cal’s offense mostly sputtered. The Bears five wins so far are their fewest since 1913-14 when Cal was an independent and played only two games, winning both.

USC: Hosts Oregon on Thursday. The Trojans had won three straight against the Ducks before losing in Eugene, 81-60, on Jan. 13.

California: Plays at Arizona on Thursday.