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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

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

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