No. 5 USC Men's Basketball Takes Second Loss In 79-69 Contest Against Oregon

LOS ANGELES — Boogie Ellis and Isaiah Mobley scored 18 points each, but the efforts weren't enough as No. 5 USC men's basketball took its second loss of the season in a 79-69 contest against Oregon on Saturday night at home.

Mobley grabbed nine rebounds and Drew Peterson had 10 points and six boards. Ellis, Mobley and Peterson combined for 67% of the Trojans' points.

USC (14-2, 4-2 Pac-12) played its second-straight home game at Galen Center with restricted attendance consisting of player guests.

Oregon (11-6, 4-2 Pac-12) entered the contest coming off an 84-81 upset win at No. 3 UCLA on Thursday and are now on a five-game winning streak. This was the two schools' first meeting since last year's Sweet 16 matchup in the NCAA Tournament when the Trojans advanced over the Ducks.

Oregon came out swinging in the first half — taking a 10-point lead just five minutes into the game courtesy of two 3-pointers from Will Richardson. — and rarely relented for the rest of the game. USC struggled with the Ducks' swarming defense all night, shooting just 41.7% from the field. Oregon controlled the game's pace and had 15 fastbreak points.

Despite the Trojans' multiple attempts to gain momentum, Oregon hit USC with an 8-2 spurt to go up by 13 points with 8:33 left. The Ducks ended the first half on a 13-2 run capped off by Eric Williams Jr.'s buzzer-beating 3-pointer to take a 45-29 lead at halftime.

Oregon continued its dominance in the second half and led by as much as 18 points — the Trojans' largest deficit of the season. USC improved on both ends of the floor as the game progressed but never trailed fewer than 10 points.

Triple from @MobleyIsaiah! 🎯

He's 5-of-7 from the field tonight.

📺: FS1 pic.twitter.com/09qce9U461

— USC Men's Basketball (@USC_Hoops) January 16, 2022

Richardson had a career-high 28 points for Oregon, which became the first team to shoot 50% or better against the Trojans all season.

After playing three games in five days, USC takes a four-day break before embarking on the Rocky Mountain road trip next week. The Trojans will visit Colorado on Thursday and Utah on Jan. 22. USC returns to Galen Center the following week and host Arizona State, Stanford and California with fans expected to be allowed back.