Tough finish for the Trojans

Freshmen put on a show, but foul trouble hurts an already short Trojans team most.

USC, short-handed because of injuries and disqualification, runs out of regulars in loss to Vanderbilt.

VANDERBILT 82 USC 78

This wasn’t Duke versus Kentucky, but USC’s matchup with Vanderbilt on Sunday night still became a freshman showcase.

The Trojans’ electric Kevin Porter Jr. — he of the spring-legged dunks and crossover, step-back threepointers — faced off against Vanderbilt’s most decorated recruiting class in program history. Five-star recruits Darius Garland and Simisola Shittu, a pair of prospects both ranked in the top 11 nationally by 247Sports, highlight the Commodores’ freshman class and made big plays.

Porter one-upped them on the highlight reel. He slammed home dunks. He hit deep shots while fading away. On his initial offensive touch, Vanderbilt tried to double-team him when he caught the ball just outside the lane. He spun away from both defenders and finished with an up-and-under shot off the backboard.

But Garland and Shittu outlasted Porter and the Trojans in an 82-78 Vanderbilt victory in front of 3,804 at Galen Center.

To the dismay of the scouts in attendance, all three freshmen were saddled with second-half foul trouble that forced them to sit for a stretch. The Trojans took advantage with a 10-2 run to take a 61-60 lead with 8:14 remaining, but Porter had just been sent to the bench after picking up his fourth foul. Vanderbilt coach Bryce Drew’s hand had been forced. He gambled and put Shittu back in the game alongside Garland despite both having four fouls.

Shittu cleaned up a Garland miss to give them back a lead. USC rallied to retake the lead, but only after Porter was whistled for his fifth foul and disqualified with 5:27 left. He finished with 14 points on five-for-nine shooting in 23 minutes.

“It’s a big loss for us, especially when you don’t have [Bennie] Boatwright and Elijah Weaver and Chuck O’Bannon,” USC coach Andy Enfield said. “It’s one thing if Kevin Porter fouls out, it’s another thing if you look down the bench and your other better offensive players are out.”

USC was without Boatwright (knee) and Weaver (ankle) as they recover from offseason surgeries. O’Bannon will be “out a few weeks” after breaking a finger on his nonshooting hand, Enfield said.

Vanderbilt made the most of Porter’s absence. A Shittu steal led to a game-tying layup. When USC missed two shots, Garland was there to snatch a rebound and push the action, leading to Joe Toye being bumped going to the basket. Jordan Usher fouled out on the play.

Toye made both free throws to put Vanderbilt back ahead. The Commodores made 11 of their final 12 free throws and Garland made their last shot from the field with 1:09 left to hold off every USC rally. Derryck Thornton scored six of his 17 points in the final 14 seconds, but the Trojans couldn’t get close enough for a tying shot.

Garland scored 19 points. Shittu added 14 and grabbed 15 rebounds, eight on the offensive end. USC junior Nick Rakocevic had 19 points and 18 rebounds.

In the final seconds, Thornton fouled out, forcing USC to use a walk-on with six scholarship players injured or disqualified.

“We played hard and we’re getting better, but we need to play as a complete team,” Enfield said.