USC’s men’s basketball team found its way through a wild exhibition night at UC San Diego, leaning on a new defensive look, big scoring from Rodney Rice and Alijah Arenas, and a handful of late stops to escape RIMAC Arena with an 80-74 win on Sunday, Oct. 17.
The Trojans had to absorb plenty along the way. UC San Diego hit USC with an early three-point barrage, fifth-year guard Treysen Eaglestaff kept the Tritons rolling with scoring bursts, and the game swung back and forth deep into the second half. But USC settled in when it mattered most, closing out its first exhibition win of the year in front of a near-sold-out crowd.
Rice was the engine throughout. The senior guard finished with 26 points on 7-for-14 shooting, knocked down a team-best three threes, added five assists and swiped three steals. He also delivered in the final minute of the back-and-forth second half, scoring nine of USC’s last 11 points and going a perfect 9-for-9 at the free-throw line.
Arenas continued to give USC a major scoring punch, finishing with 22 points on 9-for-15 shooting. He also pulled down eight rebounds, which would have been a career best, and once again ranked second on the team in scoring.
Jacob Cofie gave the Trojans a huge boost as well. Despite being limited to just six first-half minutes because of foul trouble, the forward still finished with 10 rebounds, eight points, two assists and a steal. Nine of those boards came after halftime, and two of them directly led to USC points.
UC San Diego came out firing from deep. The Tritons grabbed an 11-6 lead with Eaglestaff scoring eight of those points, and they made six three-pointers and six two-pointers in the opening half while hitting 46.2% of their shots from beyond the arc. USC responded through Rice, who either scored or assisted on nine of the team’s first 12 points during one early stretch that helped the Trojans move ahead 18-12 with 11:22 left in the half.
Even then, UCSD kept answering. Every time USC built a two-possession cushion, the Tritons tended to punch right back with a three. The Trojans were in front 33-27 with four minutes to play in the half when UC San Diego ripped off a 9-0 run to move ahead 36-33 with 1:45 remaining.
Arenas helped USC steady the ship before the break, scoring four of the team’s final seven points to send the Men of Troy into halftime with a 40-38 edge.
The second half turned into a grinder. Arenas and Isaac Bruns combined for USC’s first six points of the period, stretching the lead to 46-40 in the opening 68 seconds, and the teams spent the rest of the half trading blows. There were seven ties and nine lead changes in the final 20 minutes.
USC’s defensive adjustment gave the Trojans a real foothold. The staff went to a four-guard lineup with Rice, Arenas, Jalen Cox, KJ Lewis and Cofie, and the change paid off immediately. USC kept UC San Diego without a made three-pointer until 14 minutes remained in the second half and used that stretch to fuel a 14-2 run.
The Tritons still had one last push, cutting the margin to one point with 90 seconds left. But USC’s Aaron Hunkin-Claytor checked in and drew the assignment on Eaglestaff, and the possession ended with Eaglestaff forced into a tough fadeaway three from the far right side that missed.
Eaglestaff finished with a game-high 29 points for UC San Diego. Rhamil Barno and Leo Bath also scored in double figures.
USC now wraps up its exhibition schedule with a trip to San Diego State next Friday, Oct. 23 at 7 p.m. The game will not be televised or livestreamed.
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