USC’s 2nd-half rally comes up short against Ohio State

• February 27, 2025

LOS ANGELES — USC men’s basketball coach Eric Musselman sat quasi-slumped in his chair as he answered questions about the Trojans’ latest loss, their fourth straight and sixth in their past seven games.

The first-year coach looked tired, beaten and irritated by a Big Ten travel schedule that had the Trojans arriving home at 5 a.m. on Monday after playing at Rutgers and then having to face Ohio State two days later.

The result was a listless start by the Trojans, who rallied in the second half before losing to the Buckeyes, 87-82, on Wednesday night at the Galen Center.

“We literally got back at 5 a.m. and so you got to make a decision at one o’clock when your practice time is – do you practice Monday or not? But we felt like we had to prep (for the next game),” Musselman said.

What little time they had to get ready wasn’t enough. The Buckeyes started out like a team that had enjoyed the unusually warm winter temperatures in Southern California after playing against UCLA on Sunday. They were rested, started strong and led by as much as 17 points in the first half, though they found themselves scrambling in the final minutes.

The Trojans got a 27-point performance from freshman Wesley Yates III and rallied to tie the score with a little more than a minute to play before losing.

“I thought we looked tired, but then we found a second gear,” Musselman said. “We took guys out right away. In the second half, if a guy got scored on, we took them out. Maybe there was an accountability jolt, but I thought that defensively in the second half we found another gear than what we had in the first half.”

USC (14-14 overall, 6-11 Big Ten) displayed little resistance early but found its shooting touch in the second half – 15 for 23 (65.2%) – to mount a comeback.

Trailing 76-69, Rashaun Agee scored on a layup and Yates followed with another basket to further trim the margin to 76-73 with 4:51 left. Desmond Claude pulled USC within one point on a driving layup through traffic.

The Buckeyes, however, answered with two quick baskets for an 80-75 lead. The Trojans responded and tied the score on a hook shot by Agee with 1:07 remaining. On the ensuing play out of a timeout, Devin Royal drove baseline, spun into the lane and banked in a shot while drawing a foul on USC’s Sean Stewart with 56 seconds left. Royal made the free throw for an 83-80 lead and Ohio State held on when Yates’ 3-point attempt with six seconds left bounced off the front of the rim.

Yates shot 9 for 16 from the field and 7 for 9 from the free-throw line to pace the Trojans, and Chibuzo Agbo finished with 17 points, shooting 4 for 6 behind the arc.

USC struggled to stop the Buckeyes from perimeter, where they made shot 11 for 20 from 3-point range. Ohio State was a blistering 8 for 9 from deep in the first half and shot 73.1% overall before halftime.

“If somebody shoots 70% in the first half, I mean, you can’t even do that when there’s no defense on the floor,” Musselman said. “If they went out and spot shot alone, I don’t know if they could make that many 3’s and shoot that percentage. So, look, credit to them. They beat us. They took it to us at the beginning of the game and there’s no excuses at all.”

Micah Parrish and Bruce Thornton each scored 20 points for Ohio State (16-13, 8-10), which ended its own three-game skid. John Mobley Jr. scored 18 points and Royal added 13.

Ohio State remained dialed in in the second half and finished the game shooting 54% overall. Ohio State is known for its slow pace and used that to keep the hosts from gaining any real traction until midway through the second half.

Yates cut what had been a 14-point halftime deficit to six with a driving layup at the 11:48 mark and the Trojans tried to keep surging, but Ohio State buried its 11th 3-pointer, a step-back shot by Parrish, for a 72-65 lead with 8:16 left.

USC showed a bit of energy late in the first half, getting within 40-31 with 4:18 left, but that momentum quickly faded as the Buckeyes surged back ahead by 17 with 1:02 left and took a 52-38 lead to the locker room.

“I thought the effort in the second half was great, and I thought the defense in the first half was probably the worst defense that I’ve ever had a team play in my college tenure,” Musselman said, pointing to their porous perimeter defense and 10 first-half turnovers and 18 overall.

“(Those are) the reasons why we lost the game,” he added. “Second half, we played good enough to win, missed some free throws, had some crucial turnovers and then obviously Royal’s three-point play. Not only did he score, but he drew a foul.”

Musselman has stressed throughout the Trojans’ first season in the Big Ten that they need to play nearly flawless to win games. USC needs to reach that level to qualify for the conference tournament.

With three regular-season games remaining, USC is no lock for the Big Ten Tournament. Only 15 of the 18 teams qualify for the event and the Trojans are part of a six-team cluster in the bottom third of the standings.

“It’s tough. Coming out, playing, knowing that every game counts, every game matters, knowing we need wins,” Yates said. “It’s tough, honestly. Can’t even explain it. Practice hard every day. Great game plan. Feel like we’re prepared. Just got to figure out a way to win.”

Before it’s too late.

​ Orange County Register 

Kings rally to force OT against Canucks, salvage a point in rare home loss

• February 27, 2025

LOS ANGELES — The Kings cranked it up in the third period to steal a consolation point at home after rambling listlessly on offense through most of Wednesday night’s 3-2 overtime loss to the Vancouver Canucks at Crypto.com Arena.

They avoided what would have been just their second regulation loss in their past 17 outings on home ice. Vancouver snapped its two-game winless streak and climbed back into a playoff spot in the process.

Trailing 2-0 heading into the third, the Kings got a flashy goal from Adrian Kempe and a blue-collar one from Warren Foegele to force overtime. David Rittich made 14 saves, saddling him with his fifth loss in his past six starts.

Top defenseman Drew Doughty was a late scratch due to a lower-body injury, drawing Kyle Burroughs into the lineup. Doughty is considered “day-to-day” and is expected to travel with the team to Dallas, per Coach Jim Hiller.

Nils Höglander got the ball rolling for Vancouver before Conor Garland scored once in regulation and again in OT to decide the outcome. Filip Chytil chipped in two assists. Kevin Lankinen beat back 24 bids. While the Kings were without their No. 1 blue-liner, Vancouver got theirs back at the last possible instant as Quinn Hughes played 21:38 and contributed an assist on the game-winning strike in his first action since Jan. 31.

“For us to win games, especially in the second half, we have to play a full 60 minutes,” defenseman Jordan Spence said. “If we play like we did in the third period, the result would have been different.”

Hiller didn’t quite concur.

“Even in our third period, I didn’t think we were sharp,” he said. “We scored, that was great to see. We played much better, but I still didn’t think we were sharp.”

In overtime, Drew O’Connor tripped up Kevin Fiala, giving the Kings their second pivotal power play after they failed to cash in one late in regulation. They were again unable to convert, setting the stage for Garland’s second goal with 34 seconds left in the bonus session. Garland skated into Hughes’ pass near the left-wing wall and attacked Brandt Clarke directly before rifling in a shot from the faceoff dot.

With 5:59 to play in regulation, there was a pivotal sequence that first saw the Kings tie the score on Foegele’s redirection of Spence’s shot, and then earn a power play as a result of Vancouver coach Rick Tocchet’s unsuccessful challenge for goalie interference. After Foegele’s 16th goal of the season was upheld, the power play was fruitless, though Spence did swipe Chytil’s shorthanded bid off the goal line to avert calamity.

“The penalty kill was huge. We missed the challenge and then we got a penalty in overtime, so we killed those two penalties off, a lot of guts, I’ve got to give the guys a lot of credit,” Tocchet said.

With 10:44 left in regulation, Kempe received the puck near the red line and propelled forward to deliver a far-side snipe that Lankinen had little chance of stopping. It was the newlywed Kempe’s team-leading 26th goal of the season.

“I got a good pass, I had a lot of speed so I tried to shoot it in stride,” Kempe said. “It definitely builds confidence. I haven’t played my best game over the last couple of games or before the break either, so hopefully that can spark me.”

The middle frame brought more of the same for the Kings, who were again tepid offensively and once more gave up the period’s only goal, a power-play marker at 13:07.

Vancouver forced a defenseman, Mikey Anderson, and a forward, Foegele, to switch positions, and then outnumbered the Kings below the goal line. The result was Chytil’s feed to Garland, who popped the puck in easily from below the hash marks just before taking a hit from Anderson.

“He was a beast tonight,” Hughes said of Garland. “Even in the first period, he was probably our best player: creating chances, [being] competitive, [skating] all over the ice.”

The first period seemed to call for cold medicine, as it was defined by grogginess and congestion. The two teams barely broke double digits in combined shots on goal, but the Canucks got the better of both the shot count and the score.

As the midpoint of the period approached, Vancouver got on the board when former King Derek Forbort set up Höglander’s tally to open the scoring. Joel Edmundson, who was also on for Vancouver’s second goal, had wiped out in the slot. That left Spence alone against Höglander and Kiefer Sherwood, who sprang open at the back post. Höglander elected to keep the puck and placed it so precisely to the far side that Rittich barely reacted to his shot.

Next up, the Kings travel to the Lone Star State for a clash with the Dallas Stars, whom they’ve beaten in both meetings to date this season.

MINOR MOVE

Before the game, the Kings traded minor-league forward Tyler Madden to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for minor-league defenseman Joseph Cecconi.

​ Orange County Register 

Gene Hackman, wife and their dog found dead in their New Mexico home, authorities say

• February 27, 2025

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman and his wife were found dead in their New Mexico home Wednesday, authorities said.

Foul play is not suspected, however authorities did not release any details of the circumstances of their deaths and said an investigation is ongoing.

Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Denise Avila said deputies responded to a request to do a welfare check at the home Wednesday around 1:45 pm local time and found Hackman, his wife Betsy Arakawa and a dog dead.

Hackman, 95, was one of the industry’s most respected and honored performers. His dozens of films included Oscar-winning roles in “The French Connection” and “Unforgiven” and had a breakout performance in “Bonnie and Clyde.”

This is a breaking news story. More information will be added as it comes in.

​ Orange County Register 

One hospitalized after traffic collision involving Huntington Beach police officer

• February 27, 2025

One person was hospitalized Wednesday, Feb. 26 following a “traffic-related incident” involving a Huntington Beach police officer, said Huntington Beach Police spokesperson Jessica Cuchilla.

Police said it occurred around 7:20 p.m. on Beach Boulevard and Heil Avenue. Details on the victim, their condition, and the circumstances leading up to their injuries were not released. The California Highway Patrol, which was handling the investigation, on its incident log described it as a traffic collision between a bicyclist and a police patrol unit.

The police officer involved in the collision did not sustain any injuries.

Footage by news video firm On.SceneTV showed a patrol car in the middle of the intersection cordoned off in yellow caution tape as officers examined the area and photographed the vehicle.

As of 10 p.m., all lanes on Beach Boulevard and Heil Avenue had re-opened.

​ Orange County Register 

James Harden, Clippers hold off Bulls to end 3-game skid

• February 27, 2025

CHICAGO — Having two healthy Hall-of-Fame players on the court makes a world of difference for any team, and it’s probably essential for the Clippers if they want to make any kind of postseason run.

James Harden made seven 3-pointers and scored 30 points, and Kawhi Leonard rejoined the lineup after a two-game absence as the Clippers beat the Chicago Bulls, 122-117, on Wednesday night.

Leonard had 17 points and eight rebounds after missing back-to-back games (and three of the previous four) because of a sore left foot, and the Clippers got back to winning after losing three in a row. Wednesday’s game was just the 17th for two-time NBA Finals MVP Leonard, who missed the first nine weeks of the season as he recovered from a right knee injury.

Amir Coffey added 20 points and Derrick Jones Jr. had 16 for the Clippers. Bogdan Bogdanovic shot 4 for 5 from 3-point range to finish with 14 points, and Ivica Zubac had another double-double (10 points, 10 rebounds, two blocked shots) to help the sixth-place Clippers move a half-game ahead of Minnesota in the tightly packed Western Conference standings.

Zach Collins set season highs with 21 points and a career-best 17 rebounds for Chicago, and Josh Giddey had 21 points and 12 assists. Coby White scored 19, but the Bulls lost for the seventh time in eight games. Tre Jones (16), Lonzo Ball (15), and Kevin Huerter (13) also scored in double-digits for Chicago.

Harden shot just 1 for 5 from the field in the first half, but he caught fire in the second half. He scored 20 points and made five 3-point shots in the third quarter as the Clippers grabbed the lead for good. A Giddey 3-pointer had given the Bulls an 85-83 with 4:39 left in the period, but the Clippers scored 19 of the next 27 points.

The Bulls kept it tight until the end. They drew within two points on a Huerter layup with 4:14 left, but the Clippers held them off with a 3-pointer from Bogdanovic and a layup from Harden. White cut the margin to three on a basket with 1:03 left, but he missed an attempt at a tying 3-pointer with 36 seconds left, then Harden secured the win with a pull-up 3-pointer with 14.1 seconds remaining.

Harden wasn’t the only Clipper with a hot hand from long range. The Clippers shot 19 for 37 from deep, with Leonard (three), Jones (two) and Coffey) all joining Harden and Bogdanovic with multiple 3-point baskets. Kris Dunn made the only one he attempted.

The Clippers opened the second quarter on a 13-6 run to build a 44-32 lead, but Chicago kept chipping away. A Jones running layup with 3:55 to play before the break gave the Bulls a 50-49 advantage, and they held a 60-59 lead at halftime.

Strong ball movement fueled Chicago in the first half. The Bulls had 20 assists on 25 first-half field goals while committing just three turnovers.

Clippers leading scorer Norman Powell (24.2 ppg) missed his fourth consecutive game because of a sore left knee.

Chicago’s Nikola Vucevic sat out his second straight due to right calf tightness, and Ayo Dosunmu missed his third in a row with a sore left shoulder.

UP NEXT

The Clippers play at the Lakers on Friday at 7 p.m. The teams meet again Sunday night as well.

​ Orange County Register 

Lauren Betts, No. 2 UCLA crush Wisconsin ahead of USC rematch

• February 27, 2025

MADISON, Wis. — The rematch can officially take center stage for the UCLA women’s basketball team.

Lauren Betts had 26 points and 10 rebounds and the second-ranked Bruins routed Wisconsin, 91-61, on Wednesday night to set up a showdown with No. 4 USC for the Big Ten title this weekend.

UCLA (28-1 overall, 16-1 Big Ten) moved into a first-place tie with USC (26-2, 16-1) heading into the regular-season finale Saturday night at Pauley Pavilion against the Trojans, who handed the Bruins their only defeat, 71-60 earlier this month at the Galen Center.

Betts made 11 of her 12 shots from the field and all four of her free throws for her 15th double-double of the season. Timea Gardner added 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting (4 for 6 from 3-point range) and 10 rebounds. Londynn Jones added 13 points, shooting 3 for 8 from 3-point range on a night when the Bruins were 10 for 25 (40%) from behind the arc.

After edging Iowa, 67-65, on Sunday to open the two-game trip, the Bruins avoided looking past Wisconsin. They made six of seven shots during a 12-2 run midway through the first quarter to take a 20-9 lead. UCLA shot 10 for 18 in the first period and held a 10-point lead (22-12) when it was over.

Ronnie Porter hit two free throws to pull the Badgers within 27-19 in the second, but UCLA responded with an 8-0 run and the Bruins held a 17-point lead at halftime.

Wisconsin missed its first seven shots of the third quarter as UCLA extended its lead to 55-30 midway through the period. The Bruins led 70-40 entering the final period.

The Bruins dominated the Badgers inside and out, outscoring their hosts 52-32 in the paint and 30-12 from 3-point range. UCLA shot 55% (37 for 67) from the field while holding Wisconsin to 38% (23 for 60).

Serah Williams had 22 points and Porter scored 13 for Wisconsin (13-15, 4-13), which is trying to hang on to a spot in the 15-team Big Ten Tournament. The Badgers are in 14th place, 1½ games ahead of Purdue, which has two games remaining.

FORFEIT WINS

Both UCLA and USC gained forfeit victories on Wednesday because Northwestern chose not to play its pair of January games in California because of concerns over wildfires.

UP NEXT

UCLA returns home to host No. 4 USC on Saturday at 6 p.m.

​ Orange County Register 

Amid the Eaton fire rubble, actor Mel Gibson stumps for recall effort against Gov. Gavin Newsom

• February 27, 2025

Confident that they can get the California governor recalled this time, members of a group called Saving California enlisted some star power to help spread their message.

Mel Gibson, the well-known actor and director who lost his Malibu home in the Palisades fire, went to Altadena on Wednesday, Feb. 26, to show his support for an effort to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom, who was also in the Los Angeles area.

“Gov. Newsom and (L.A. Mayor) Karen Bass let us all down,” he said, expressing his sympathy for other victims of the fire, some of whom were in attendance.

“California was ill-prepared and had scant resources to deal with the inevitable fires,” he said. “They knew that. So are we supposed to believe our elected officials didn’t know that? Of course they knew that.”

Gibson said California has the highest levels of taxes in the country, a state where high wage earners have long paid the country’s highest state income tax rate of 13.3%.

“Now, for that kind of money, we deserve much more and much better,” he said. “And there is absolutely no adequate excuse the governor or mayor can make for this gross mismanagement and failure to preemptively deal with what they knew was coming.”

About 100 people, many wearing Trump merchandise, stood in the hot sun in the Altadena foothills at the fire-burned property of Marylee Blueford, a 98-year-old woman who had lived there since 1970.

Randy Economy, the chair of Saving California, who served as senior advisor during a 2020 effort to recall Newsom in response to the pandemic, said, “We’ve been working on this recall effort for six months. It’s not just about the fires, it’s about the political firestorm that has erupted over this whole situation.”

Economy, a radio host and media professional, said this effort is different from the Recall Gavin 2020. “I was the senior advisor of that recall. It’s totally different (now) than it was then.”

He said Newsom had an approval rating of 53% during that recall effort, and claimed that Newsom’s approval rating had fallen to the 20’s. A poll last June by Public Policy Institute of California found 44% approved of Newsom’s performance as governor.

Economy called the wildfires “emblematic of the whole situation.”

Nathan Click, a spokesman for Newsom, criticized the group and its efforts.

Nathan Click, a spokesperson for Newsom, said in a statement that the governor “is focused on leading the state and the recovery from the L.A. fires – not politics.”

Many of the same people were involved in other unsuccessful recall attempts against Newsom in the past, “each of which have failed spectacularly,” Click said.

Economy and Gibson, meanwhile, implied that Newsom could not be trusted with the $40 billion he’s requested in federal aid.

The failed recall against Newsom was only the second attempt to recall a sitting governor in California history to reach the ballot after voters recalled Democrat Gray Davis in 2003. Voters then replaced him with Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Recall proponents must conduct some preliminary steps, such as filing a notice of intention, then prepare a petition. For statewide officeholders, the petition must be signed by registered voters equal in number to 12% of the last election for governor. That means petitioners are seeking 1.5 million signatures within a 160-day period of the secretary of state’s certification.

On Wednesday, fans in the crowd called out to Gibson that he should run for governor.

“We love you, Mel,” they called.

He claimed that Newsom had made it too costly to film movies in Los Angeles, and questioned the governor’s handling of money.

“Why would we trust him with that kind of funding?” Gibson said. “Along with that federal money should come a federal investigation.”

Following comments by Gibson and Economy, Bishop Juan Carlos Mendez, founder of Churches for Action — a group supporting the recall — spoke in support of their cause, but was apparently overcome by the heat. The press conference ended and an ambulance was called to help Mendez.

Jarret Liotta is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer and photographer.

​ Orange County Register 

Huntington Park City Hall, home of mayor among 11 locations raided in public corruption probe

• February 27, 2025

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office executed search warrants Wednesday at Huntington Park City Hall, the home of Mayor Karina Macias and nine other locations as part of a public corruption probe involving a controversial $23 million aquatic center slated for the city’s Salt Lake Park.

Dubbed “Operation Dirty Pond,” the probe began in November 2022 and focuses on the potential misuse of millions of dollars in public funds allocated to build the indoor pool, District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said in a statement. The proposal called for a 30,000-square-foot, two-story, state-of-the-art aquatic center with an Olympic-size pool.

“My office is committed to ensuring that public officials uphold the highest standards of honesty, integrity and transparency,”  Hochman said. “When concerns arise about the use of public funds or the actions of those in office, it is our duty to  investigate thoroughly and protect the public’s trust.”

The following locations were raided by the district attorney’s Bureau of Investigation:

• Huntington Park City Hall, 6550 Miles Ave.
• Huntington Park Public Works, 6900 Bissell St.
• Salt Lake Park, 3401 E. Florence Ave.
• Residence of Edvin Tsaturyan and Sona Vardikyan, owners of JT Construction Group in Glendale.
• Residence of Efren Martinez, a former Huntington Park city official who lives in Los Angeles.
• Business office of Unified Consulting Services, LLC in Huntington Park.
• Residence of Huntington Park City Manager Ricardo Reyes, who lives in Downey.
• Homes of former City Councilmembers Graciela Ortiz and Marilyn Sanabria.
• Home of Mayor Karina Macias.
• Residence of Councilmember Eddie Martinez.

Numerous items were seized from each location, including public records maintained by the city, financial paperwork, computers, tablets, cellphones and various forms of electronic equipment, said Hochman, who did not provide specific details of corruption allegations.

While the construction of an aquatic center was approved several years ago, it’s been tied up in legal issues ever since, Huntington Park Vice Mayor Arturo Flores told the Southern California News Group.

Lawsuits were filed after a formal bidding process for the project was bypassed, and the Local Enforcement Agency responsible for ensuring the operations and closure of solid waste facilities issued a cease-and-desist order because the aquatic center was set to be built on a landfill, said Flores, who joined the City Council in 2022.

“The project has gone nowhere,” he added, describing it as “dead in the water” and “never feasible.” “The city has never gotten any signals that they were going to get any approvals to build.”

Satellite images of Salt Lake Park show an empty, fenced-off area covered in dead grass where the aquatic center was set to be built. A graffiti-covered, slumping sign proclaiming that the aquatic center is “coming soon” is visible on Google Street View in February 2021, but is nowhere to be seen by June 2024.

About a month ago, Flores publicly called for an investigation into the aquatic center, contending millions of dollars connected to the project have been unaccounted for. And then last week, Flores was served with a petition to recall him from office by the nephew of one of the former councilmembers whose homes were raided.

Additionally, four former Huntington Park employees have sued the city alleging they faced discrimination and retaliation for raising concerns about financial impropriety in connection with the aquatic center, said their attorney, Annette Harings.

The complaint, filed in 2020, accused the city of going on a “spending spree” that included entering into a “no-bid contract to build an unnecessary public pool which will cost a staggering $40,000,000.”

Huntington Park entered into the original contract, initially valued at $23 million, with JT Construction in 2019, records show. A resume provided to the city by JT Construction showed the company had not completed any projects similar to the proposed aquatic center in the previous 20 years.

The lawsuit alleges city officials colluded with Efren Martinez, owner of Unified Consulting Services, to use the “coffers of Huntington Park as their own personal piggy bank.” Martinez, during an unsuccessful run for state Assembly in 2020, listed JT Construction as one of Unified Consulting’s clients.

The employees, all of whom had significant experience in City Hall, allegedly were replaced by “younger employees who did not have the same in-depth knowledge of how a finance department is supposed to work,” Harings said.

Three of the employees later settled with the city. A fourth is heading to trial next month.

Harings, who is no longer involved in the case, said she is pleased the District Attorney’s Office is finally taking action.

“I am happy to see the district attorney has moved forward with the information that they received and, hopefully, the people that have had their homes and businesses visited today will come to justice,” she said.

​ Orange County Register