The California Golden Bears came out with a burst, but USC owned the glass and owned the night in a 77-65 win Wednesday at Haas Pavilion.
Cal’s early energy showed right away. The Bears ripped off a quick run, capped by a Sammie Yeanay steal and transition dunk that pushed them ahead 9-2 and got Haas Pavilion roaring. But USC settled in, turned the game into a physical battle, and slowly took control with second-chance points, loose-ball wins and a steady stream of easy looks around the rim.
Yeanay gave Cal a lift throughout the first half, finishing with nine points before the break and leading the Bears with 14 overall. Michael Cooper also supplied a spark early, scoring seven first-half points, including a jab step three from the wing in transition. Even with that, Cal led just 16-12 after a scrappy opening stretch.
The bigger problem was already taking shape. USC kept extending possessions, piling up offensive rebounds and forcing Cal to defend again and again.
The Trojans had five offensive boards in the first 10 minutes and finished the half with 11. By the end of the game, they had 53 rebounds to Cal’s 36, including 19 on the offensive end.
“I thought the difference in the game was the 50-50 balls and they absolutely destroyed us on the glass,” Madsen told the press after the loss.
Indrusaitis was just as direct.
“It was rebounding and 50-50 balls, they got literally every single one,” Indrusaitis said after the game “We’ve got to do better and we will do better.”
USC’s first lead came after a successful challenge by Head Coach Eric Musselman on a ball tipped out of bounds. The Trojans turned that into a post score and a 23-20 advantage, then stretched the margin when Jacob Cofie slipped free for an easy dunk on a missed assignment to make it 29-24.
Cal kept punching back. Yeanay finished an acrobatic reserve layup to cut the deficit, then later turned a trap into a ferocious slam after deflecting a pass on a high screen.
But USC answered each time, including a baseline three from Josh Hughes and another Cofie dunk. The Trojans closed the half on a 7-0 run while Cal went cold, sending USC into halftime up 38-30.
That margin could have been worse, considering Cal shot 33.3 percent from the field and 14.3 percent from three in the first half.
The second half followed the same script for long stretches: tough possessions, long scoring droughts, and USC finding cleaner looks by moving the ball against Cal’s high screen traps. The Trojans pushed the lead to 47-40 in the first five minutes of the half, then to 51-40 on free throws from Rodney Rice, who finished with 18 points.
Cal briefly clawed back. Indrusaitis hit a three and then a bank from the short corner, Mantas Kocanas added a steal, and Indrusaitis knocked down free throws to cut the gap to four. Later, after Alijah Arenas scored on a bank shot and a mid-range jumper to put USC ahead 57-51, Arenas missed two free throws and Indrusaitis answered with another three to pull Cal within three and send Haas Pavilion into a frenzy.
But USC kept answering. The Trojans repeatedly broke Cal’s trap and found space near the rim, and with under five minutes left Cofie faked a pass to the corner and walked into a dunk to make it 69-59. Cal then went through another extended drought, lasting three and a half minutes, and never got close again.
Arenas led all scorers with 19 points, KJ Lewis added 16, and Cofie finished with 13 points and 15 rebounds to underline just how much USC controlled the boards. USC also outshot Cal’s defense around the rim, even though the Bears forced only seven turnovers.
For Cal, the shooting numbers and the rebounding gap told the story. The Bears spent most of the night climbing uphill, and the hill kept getting steeper every time USC grabbed another miss.
Yeanay pointed to Cofie’s work inside when asked about the Trojans’ big man.
“He’s good on the boards, so we were supposed to be more aggressive and keep him off the glass,” Yeanay said. “He had 15 rebounds. We have to be better as bigs and be more aggressive in that part of the game.”
In Other News...
Cal Let A Huge Opportunity Slip Against Ranked USC
Cal had a real chance to make a statement at Haas Pavilion, but the opening against 21st-ranked USC slipped away in a 77-65 loss. Sammie Yeanay led the Bears with 14 points, Nojus Indrusaitis added 13, and the home crowd saw enough stretches of resistance to believe this one could turn. USC, though, had too much scoring balance, with Alijah Arenas finishing with 19 points, Rodney Rice with 18 and KJ Lewis with 16.
The Bears also had to navigate the absence of center Lee Dort, who was out with an ankle injury, leaving another hole in a rotation that could have used his presence against a physical opponent. Cal kept hanging around long enough to keep the pressure on, but the Trojans found the answers when it mattered most, turning a winnable night into another missed opportunity in a game the Bears needed to seize. [Read more 🡒]
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 🡒]