Iwuchukwu stuffs stat sheet in loss

CORVALLIS, Ore. — Glenn Taylor Jr. scored 18 points, including the goahead basket in the final minute, Jordan Pope added 16 points, and Oregon State defeated USC 61-58 on Saturday.

After trailing by 11 points early in the second half, the Trojans got to within one point when Vince Iwuchukwu converted a three-point play with 4:09 left. USC cut its deficit to one point twice more before Iwuchukwu hit two free throws for a 58-57 lead with 1:09 to go.

Iwuchukwu blocked a layup attempt by Taylor, but Taylor got the rebound and converted the putback to give Oregon State a 59-58 lead with 35 seconds left. After a miss by USC, the Trojans fouled Pope, who made both free throws for a threepoint lead with 19 seconds remaining. USC called a timeout with six seconds left, and Boogie Ellis missed a three-point attempt as time ran out.

Taylor grabbed 10 rebounds for his third-career double-double and second this season for the Beavers (10-16, 4-11 Pac-12). He and Pope scored all of Oregon State’s 10 points in the final five minutes.

Iwuchukwu, a 7-foot-1 freshman, set career highs with 19 points and seven rebounds and also blocked three shots for the Trojans. He made all nine of his free throws. He scored nine of USC’s final 11 points.

Iwuchukwu, who suffered cardiac arrest during a workout last summer, played in his ninth game this season and set a career high with 25 minutes of playing time. Drew Peterson contributed 11 points for the Trojans (17-8, 9-5), who lost a second straight game. They fell 78-60 at Oregon on Thursday.