INDIANAPOLIS — Little has come easy for the USC men’s basketball team in its first year under Coach Eric Musselman, so why should the Big Ten Tournament be any different.
Desmond Claude scored 22 of his game-high 28 points in the second half and overtime, and 14th-seeded USC defeated 11th-seeded Rutgers, 97-89, in double overtime on Wednesday night, extending an often frustrating season for at least another night.
“That’s why tournament play is so fun and exciting. Double-overtime game with two teams that I thought both teams played really, really hard,” Musselman said. “Every game is a game of three runs, and we had one in the first half, they had one in the second half, and we were able to finish the game on a run. I thought our two defensive stops were crucial, down four with a minute-something to go, so we could give ourselves a chance to play into the first overtime.”
USC (16-16) will square off with sixth-seeded Purdue (21-10) in a second-round game in the 15-team conference tournament on Thursday at 6 p.m. PT.
Four points from Claude plus 3-pointers by Rashaun Agee and Wesley Yates III helped the Trojans build a 91-83 lead with 1:25 left in the second extra period. Yates added a layup and four free throws down the stretch to overcome two 3-pointers by the Scarlet Knights’ Tyson Acuff.
Agee had 23 points, 11 rebounds and five assists in 48 minutes for the Trojans. Yates, who played all 50 minutes, finished with 24 points and led the Trojans to a 10-of-23 3-point shooting effort with a perfect 4-for-4 performance from behind the arc. Chibuzo Agbo also had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Claude, who played 46 minutes, had eight assists.
“Sometimes it’s like a boxing match, you know what I mean? Somebody has to persevere,” Musselman said. “Sometimes legs go out on guys. I thought that we looked. Our guys played a lot of minutes, but they do that all the time. I’ve said it before, like (New York Knicks coach) Tom Thibodeau is one of my best friends, and we’re going to play our guys that we think can help us win on that given night as many minutes as it takes.
“I didn’t think that we had any dip in our energy. I actually thought it kind of rose at one point in the second overtime.”
Claude shot 12 for 15 from the free-throw line, part of a 25-of-31 showing from the Trojans.
“I think one thing when I first got here was to be a better point guard,” Claude said. “So I think just me making the pass, especially in the first half, Shaun was hitting shots, Bu was always hitting shots. I think that just opened up the lane. Once I got down there, we knew they were anxious leapers. Pump-fake, come to two-foot stops, pivot, and I just got them in the air and went to their body and tried to score off of that.”
Dylan Harper had 27 points, eight rebounds and eight assists for Rutgers. Ace Bailey had 17 points before fouling out in regulation, and his three steals helped fuel Rutgers to a 31-7 advantage in points off turnovers. Acuff 16 and Lathan Sommerville another 16 for the Scarlet Knights (15-17).
Harper scored seven points in a 9-2 run that put the Scarlet Knights ahead 65-63 with four minutes left in regulation, their first lead since 5-2. Leading by two, Rutgers’ Jeremiah Williams missed two free throws with 18 seconds left to give USC an opportunity. Claude tied it with a driving layup with eight seconds left and Harper missed a jumper as time ran out, sending the game to overtime.
“We had to get stops, and the biggest two stops at the end of the game, those were big,” Claude said. “We were just harping on rebounding, stopping Harper because we knew he was going to try to go and try to get a bucket, and then rebounding. Those were the biggest ones. And then giving a good shot to our offense.”
Claude scored six points in the first OT and Harper’s dunk with a minute remaining tied it at 80-all. Both teams missed a go-ahead shot in the final minute.
“Credit to USC, I think they did just enough to surge back into the game and force overtime,” Rutgers’ Williams said. “Anything can happen in overtime at that point. It’s kind of like another game in a sense. Regulation doesn’t matter at that point, and you jump into a new segment of the game. They did just enough to make it a new game, and they executed in the extra minutes we had.”
Capitalizing on a sluggish offensive start for Rutgers, USC jumped to an early 24-12 advantage. The Trojans’ advantage swelled to 15 points in the first half, and was as many as 13 points in the second half before the Scarlet Knights rallied.
Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell implemented a full-court pressure defense in the second half that disrupted USC’s rhythm and sparked the Scarlet Knights’ comeback, but Rutgers could not overcome its 6-for-30 shooting from 3-point range.
“Their press bothered us,” Musselman said. “It’s not often that you have 21 turnovers and win a basketball game. Not only did we have 21 turnovers and win a basketball game, they took 17 more field goals attempted than us and we led for 35 minutes. You look at the stat sheet, and some wacky things, but I thought we were really efficient on offense when we didn’t turn the ball over. We’ve been pretty good handling presses at times and other times struggled, but we won the game.”
Now they have to turn around and try to do it again against a rested Purdue team.
“My body feels normal after a 40-minute game, double-overtime,” Agee said. “I feel good. I feel like what we need to do is ice bath, hydrate, get some rest, and focus on the next game.”
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