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No. 7 USC Men's Basketball Shakes Off Early Rust, Stays Perfect In 77-63 Win At California

by usctrojans.com
Jan 6, 2022

Isaiah Mobley had 19 points and nine rebounds to lead No. 7 USC men's basketball to a 77-63 win at California Thursday night in the Trojans' first game in 20 days.

Drew Peterson scored 17 points and grabbed nine boards. Boogie Ellis tallied 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting.

The Trojans (13-0, 3-0) remain as one of three undefeated teams in men's college basketball (No. 1 Baylor and No. 20). They are on their best start since 2016-17 when USC won its first 14 games.

USC played its first game in 20 days after coming out of a COVID-19 pause and dealt with rust in the first half. The Trojans shot just 11-of-30 in the first half and conceded 10 lead changes with the Golden Bears. USC entered halftime with a 36-31 advantage.

After giving up a quick jumper to start the second half, the Trojans used an 11-2 run highlighted by two layups from Ellis to pull away from California.

The Golden Bears cut USC's lead to six points with 7:08 remaining, but USC went on another 11-2 run to thwart California's rally.

The Trojans finished the second half shooting 18-of-28 from the field. USC dominated the boards with its size all game with a 39-24 rebounding advantage.

Grant Anticevich finished with 19 points for the Golden Bears. California became the first team to shoot better than 40% against USC all season but was held to just 22-of-54 shooting.

The Trojans returned to Los Angeles after the game after Saturday's game at Stanford was postponed due to COVID-19 protocols within the Cardinal program. USC hosts Oregon State on Jan. 13 (closed attendance) and are also slated to face Oregon on Jan. 15.

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