Trojans get back on track with an easy win at home
Another steal, this one an intercepted pass by Drew Peterson, and USC was off and running against Cal. Peterson took a few easy dribbles up the court, freshman Oziyah Sellers his running mate in transition.
Without much effort or concern, Peterson flipped the ball behind his back with his right hand to Sellers, who finished with his left hand off the glass.
It was the type of highlight that felt mundane by the end of the night. After a dispiriting road trip to Oregon, USC got back on track with an easy 9760 victory over the Golden Bears on Thursday night at the Galen Center.
The Trojans (18-8 overall, 10-5 in Pac-12) got off to a 13-0 lead to open the game behind a couple of Peterson 3-pointers. Spotted that quick advantage, USC was able to throttle back to second or third gear for the rest of the game while still setting a season high in points scored.
Peterson and Boogie Ellis
were able to get back on track after poor shooting performances during USC’s latest road trip. The pair combined to shoot 8 for 15 from 3-point range, each getting into doubledigit scoring in the first half.
Peterson scored a career-high 30 points and orchestrated the USC fast break for much of the night, with six assists as the Trojans scored 18 points in transition.
And even without center Joshua Morgan (ankle) for the fourth straight game, USC showed a little more fortitude in the post defensively. Freshman Vincent Iwuchukwu looked more assured of himself, staying firm and steady when Cal leading scorer Lars Thiemann tried to post him up. Freshman Kijani Wright came off the bench and had some solid moments defensively, too.
The easy nature of the victory allowed head coach Andy Enfield to do some experimenting. He tried out a two-big lineup with the 7-foot-1 Iwuchukwu and stretch-four Harrison Hornery next to each other in the first half, and Hornery with Wright in the second.
It’s not something USC has done much of this season, but it could come in handy in matchups against Arizona and Utah over the next two weeks.
And the freshman Sellers got some run, playing a career-high 17 minutes. The guard has been considered the Trojans’ best shooter in practice, but he hasn’t been able to translate that into game opportunities.
But with a big lead and guard Reese Dixon-Waters (leg) sidelined for a fourth straight game, Sellers got his opportunity Thursday. He translated it to a career-high 11 points with two 3-pointers on 4-for-4 shooting.
It wasn’t a perfect effort, with the Golden Bears (3-23, 2-13) grabbing 12 offensive rebounds in the first half to USC’s 13 defensive rebounds, a continuous thorn in the Trojans’ side.
But the Trojans got back to their winning ways, and were able to test-run some new looks in a game setting. Not bad for a night’s work.