Cal’s hot hand from deep disappeared at the wrong time Wednesday night, and USC made the Bears pay.
The 21st-ranked Trojans left Haas Pavilion with a 77-65 win in front of 5,087, handing Cal its second loss in four games. The Bears, who had leaned on three-point shooting in their first two victories, went cold from outside and finished just 4-for-23 from long range. USC wasn’t much sharper at 5-for-17, but the Trojans delivered enough late to keep Cal at arm’s length after the Bears had trimmed the gap to three with eight minutes left.
Sammie Yeanay paced Cal with 14 points, while Nojus Indrusaitis added 13, 11 of them after halftime. Cal (2-2) also got a strong scoring night from Michael Cooper, who entered the game as the team’s leading scorer at 19.7 points per game after averaging that through the first three contests.
USC (3-0) spread the offense around and got its biggest production from Alijah Areas, Rodney Rice and KJ Lewis. Areas finished with 19 points, Rice scored 18 and Lewis added 16.
The Bears were without center Lee Dort again. He has now missed all four games this season because of an ankle injury.
Cal opened fast and grabbed a 9-2 lead in the first three minutes, capped by a Yeanay breakaway dunk. But USC settled in, erased the early deficit and took its first lead at 21-20 when Alijah Arenas finished a three-point play with 8:06 left in the first half.
From there, the Trojans closed the half on a 7-0 run and took a 39-30 lead into the break. Neither side found much rhythm early, but Cal’s shooting was especially rough: the Bears hit just 33.3 percent of their first-half shots and went 2-for-14 from three-point range. USC shot 38.9 percent in the opening 20 minutes and was 4-for-14 from beyond the arc.
Yeanay led Cal with nine first-half points, while Rice had 12 for USC.
The Bears made their push right after halftime. They cut the nine-point deficit to three in the first 80 seconds of the second half, only for USC to answer and rebuild control. Rice’s two free throws pushed the Trojans ahead 51-40 with 13:48 left, and the lead was still 11 at the 12:37 mark.
Then Indrusaitis brought Cal back into it. He scored seven straight points to pull the Bears within four at 11:06, and his three-pointer trimmed the margin to three with 8:46 remaining.
Cal was still within three at the eight-minute mark, but that was as close as it got. USC steadied itself down the stretch and closed out the game.
Wednesday also brought a roster note for Cal: the Bears signed four-star guard Gene Roebuck to the class of 2027.
USC came in averaging 94 points through its first two games after beating Milwaukee 95-63 and Wichita State 93-86. In Sunday’s win over Wichita State, Rice scored 32 points and Arenas scored 30.
USC was an 8.5-point favorite over Cal, according to FanDuel.
Cal’s last win over a ranked opponent came a year ago, when it upset 18th-ranked UCLA 80-72 on November 25, 2025, at the Chase Center.
In Other News...
Cal Gets An Early Test That Will Say A Lot About The Bears
An early-season meeting between USC and California brings a familiar rivalry back into focus, even if the schools now find themselves in different conferences. The nonconference matchup gives both programs a chance to measure where they stand while carrying undefeated records into a game that still has a little extra edge because of the history between them.
For Cal, it is the kind of test that can reveal a lot before the schedule gets deeper. USC arrives with the confidence that comes from a strong start, and the Bears will get an immediate read on how they stack up against a ranked opponent in a game that could help shape the tone of their season. [Read more 🡒]
Cal Recruiting Just Took Another Hit Fans Can't Ignore
Cals 2027 recruiting class took another noticeable blow when three-star running back AJ Sanders III backed away from his commitment, according to Rivals. The loss adds to a string of departures for a class that has already seen plenty of turnover, even as it continues to sit inside the national top 25.
For a program trying to build momentum on the recruiting trail, the churn is the part that stands out most. The Bears still have work to do to stabilize the class and keep its foundation intact, but the ranking shows there is still enough talent on board to keep Cal in the conversation while the staff tries to stop the slide. [Read more 🡒]
Cals Quarterback Future Suddenly Feels Far Less Certain
Jaron-Keawe Sagapoluteles sophomore season has not matched the promise he showed as a freshman, and the dip has come at a rough time for a Cal team sitting at 3-6. The Bears have spent much of the year trying to steady an offense that has not found enough consistency, and general manager Ron Rivera has already been careful in discussing what comes next, even as he left open the possibility that Sagapolutele could still be part of the program in 2027.
Tosh Lupoi has tried to frame the situation through development, saying the staff is working to build out the offense and put Sagapolutele in a better position to succeed. The quarterback picture only got murkier after Sagapolutele returned from a concussion and was benched in the seventh game of the season, with Jackson Brouseau taking over instead, a move that underscored how unsettled the Bears most important spot has become as the season drifts toward its finish. [Read more 🡒]