Eaddy takes control for Trojans
His season-best 21 points include a clutch jumper. Peterson adds 15 in sixth straight win.
Before Tahj Eaddy became the Trojans de facto point guard in early December, he hadn’t intended on having the reins of USC’s offense to himself. That role was instead thrust upon him six weeks earlier, when the graduate transfer was forced to fill in for an injured Ethan Anderson, dutifully stepping into the position of ball-handling, floor-spacing creator, a role few others on the roster could fill.
Eaddy proved to be a steadying hand over those eight games, ahead of Anderson’s return this week. But with the injured point guard still playing sparingly with a sore back, Eaddy took the reins again Saturday, leading USC to an 85-77 victory over Washington State in which it never trailed at Galen Center.
It nearly gave away that lead late, anyway, as the Cougars clawed back to within four points with just in the second half to finish with 15, while reeling in 11 rebounds for his second doubledouble of the season.
“This is such a deep team,” Peterson said. “Anyone can step up at any given moment. It just depends on what the defense is giving us, and me and Tahj were able to create today.”
The two guards took over on a night when USC’s sibling towers were at times neutralized. Fresh off of a career-high in points on Thursday, Isaiah Mobley scored just seven against the Cougars but added a crucial low-post bucket late in the game.
That comeback began with Evan Mobley, the Trojans’ leading scorer, on the bench with four fouls. With its guards making plays on the perimeter, it would seem to have been an ideal night for Mobley to dominate. He still finished with 16 points but he reeled in three rebounds, his lowest total this season, while Washington State big man Efe Abogidi tallied 12 boards.
The Trojans’ star freshman would return to the floor just as the Cougars (9-4, 2-4 Pac-12) began mounting a 14-3 run that would be their final stand. With Washington State threatening to cut the lead even further, Mobley swatted away a floater, giving way to Eaddy’s ice-cold jumper on the other end.
USC (11-2, 5-1 Pac-12) would hold with crucial plays like that from its playmakers.
The Cougars shot nearly 54% from the field after the half, with guard Isaac Bonton leading both teams with 27 points.
TDavion Mitchell had 19 points and Jared Butler finally scored late as the Bears overcame the Red Raiders to stay undefeated after their closest game this season.
Butler, the preseason AP All-American coming off a season-high 28 points in the last game, was 0 for 9 shooting with six turnovers before hitting consecutive threepointers for Baylor (12-0, 5-0 Big 12) in the final five minutes.
Mac McClung had 24 points for Texas Tech (11-4, 4-3), which was coming off a 79-77 win at No. 4 Texas on Wednesday night.
No. 18 Virginia 85, at No. 12 Clemson 50: