USC stuns UCLA on Eaddy’s last-second shot, eyes title

LOS ANGELES >> Usually, the late-season dramatics belong to UCLA. After all, the Bruins own a record 11 national championships and their all-time roster boasts some of the game’s greatest players.

USC’S basketball history pales by comparison at a school known for its powerhouse football program. But the Trojans stunned the Bruins for the second year in a row on Saturday, winning 64-63 on Tahj Eaddy’s 3-pointer with 1.4 seconds remaining.

It was a bitter pill for the Bruins. They lost the regular-season finale the same way a year ago, when Jonah Mathews hit a 3-pointer with 1 second to go on USC’S home court.

This time, it was Eaddy’s turn. The transfer from Santa Clara took a pass from Ethan Anderson and was behind the backboard and nearly falling out of bounds on the left baseline when he launched the wellcontested 3-pointer — just the fourth made by USC.

“It’s funny how things come full circle like that,” Eaddy said. “It was special to be able to do it in a USC uniform against UCLA.”

Eaddy was mobbed by his jumping teammates. The players could be heard celebrating in their locker room as empty Pauley Pavilion immediately went quiet.

Eaddy’s shot wasn’t USC’S first option. They wanted to go to standout freshman Evan Mobley for an alley-oop play. They had no timeouts left.

“We’re only down two, so we were just trying to extend the play, but they did a good job of guarding that,” Eaddy said. “It was just trying to get a catch before there was a five-second call. We were getting close.”

Now it’s the Trojans whose hopes remain alive for a chance to win their first Pac-12 outright regular-season title since 196061. First-place Oregon leads the league by percentage points and would have to lose to Oregon State tonight for USC (21-6, 15-5) to claim the title by one game.

“I wouldn’t say it’s amazing, but we’re really excited,” USC coach Andy Enfield said. “Of course, we’ll be rooting for Oregon State.”

Eaddy was sliding on the court seconds earlier trying to hold on to the ball, but wasn’t called for traveling.

Mobley led USC with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Eaddy and Chevez Goodwin added 12 points each, and Drew Peterson had 10 points.

The Bruins (17-8, 13-6) were led by Jaime Jaquez Jr. with 12 points. Jules Bernard and David Singleton added 11 points each. They were without leading scorer Johnny Juzang, who tweaked his right ankle in practice on Friday.