Tired of the trash talk, USC takes it out on Utah
USC played with a chip on its shoulder. First, the Trojans were still mad about teammate De’Anthony Melton being held out this season. Second, they didn’t like the reminders that visiting Utah was dropping about its eight-game winning streak over the Trojans.
So USC took out its frustration by making a season-high 14 threepointers in an 84-67 victory on Sunday night that was its first against the Utes since Jan. 12, 2013.
Jonah Mathews scored 17 points to help the Trojans (13-6, 4-2 Pac-12) complete a weekend sweep after routing Colorado by 19 points.
“We made a statement to Utah because they were talking trash to us,” Mathews said. “Before, during, after — the whole game. We tried to keep our composure and let the scoreboard talk for us, as it did.”
The Utes (10-7, 2-4) were led by Justin Bibbins with 19 points, all in the second half. They hit two three-pointers to open the game for their only lead.
Then the rout was on. USC raced to a 32-11 lead as four players combined to make eight three-pointers. The Trojans shot 60 percent from long range on the way to a 46-22 halftime lead. They had balanced scoring, too, with Shaqquan Aaron, Jordan McLaughlin and Elijah Stewart each chipping in nine points.
“They made a lot of threes at the beginning of the game that we shouldn’t have let them make,” said Jayce Johnson, who had 14 points and nine rebounds.
The Utes were plagued by 32 percent shooting — making just eight field goals — and 11 turnovers.
The Trojans found out last week that Melton, a sophomore guard, will be held out for the season after the school determined that a close family friend received an extra benefit, which triggered an NCAA violation.