USC wasted no time making a statement in its season opener, rolling past Milwaukee 95-63 on Nov. 2 at the Galen Center behind a defense that set the tone and a pair of freshmen who looked right at home.
The No. 21 Trojans opened the year at 1-0 by turning the game into a runaway early.
They forced 17 turnovers, built a 20-point halftime cushion and stretched the margin to as many as 36 midway through the second half. Five USC players finished in double figures, and the balance on offense matched the pressure on the other end.
Freshman forward Adonis Ratliff delivered the headline performance, finishing with 25 points, six rebounds, three assists and two blocks. That 25-point debut is the most by a USC freshman since O.J.
Mayo scored 32 in 2007. Alijah Arenas added 21 points and a career-best eight rebounds, while freshman center Darius Ratliff chipped in 14 points and five blocks.
The Ratliff twins were a problem from the start. Together, Adonis and Darius combined for 39 points and seven blocks in their collegiate debuts, with Darius making his presence felt as a rim protector and Adonis showing off the kind of scoring punch that kept USC in control all night.
USC got rolling early through second-chance chances and full-court pressure, moving ahead 10-5 with 15:25 left in the first half. Adonis and Arenas handled the first wave of scoring, accounting for eight of the Trojans’ first 12 points. A 9-2 burst pushed the lead to 12 with 11:32 remaining in the half, and Darius later buried a three to make it a seven-point game nearly midway through the period.
The Panthers never found a clean answer for USC’s length. The Trojans were disrupting shots at the rim, forcing six turnovers in the first 10 minutes and holding Milwaukee to 35% shooting in the first half. The Panthers also turned it over nine times before the break.
Darius led all scorers in the first half with 11 points and also blocked four shots before halftime. Adonis had seven points and three rebounds in the opening frame, while Arenas posted 10 points and five rebounds. Senior guard KJ Lewis helped keep the margin steady with timely shooting from deep, scoring eight first-half points with two 3-pointers.
Lewis finished with 10 points off the bench, and USC’s offense kept finding another gear after halftime. Darius opened the second half by finding Arenas for a layup on an over-the-head, no-look pass that pushed the Trojans ahead 50-33 with 17:36 left.
The Trojans also caught fire from three in the second half, hitting 8 of 13 attempts. Senior guard Rodney Rice knocked down two second-half 3-pointers and ended with 15 points, six rebounds and nine assists. USC shot 56.9% from the field and 54.5% from distance overall, with 60% shooting and 61.5% from three in the second half alone.
Milwaukee’s top scorer was freshman guard Amare Hereford, who finished with 14 points.
USC’s defensive activity showed up everywhere, with nine different Trojans recording at least one steal. Arenas, Adonis Ratliff, Jalen Cox and Aaron Hunkin-Claytor each had two steals.
The win also gave USC a 1-0 start against Milwaukee, and Eric Musselman moved to 1-0 against the Panthers as well. USC’s first starting lineup of the season featured Rodney Rice, Alijah Arenas, Jacob Cofie, Adonis Ratliff and Darius Ratliff, and that group is now 1-0.
Afterward, Musselman pointed to the twins’ shooting and the team’s ball movement. On the Ratliff brothers, he said, "Their shot selection's been really good behind closed doors in practice and in exhibition games.
When Adonis gets his feet set, he's as good a shooter as I've ever seen since I've been here. When NBA people come in and watch us, I think that the shooting for a seven-footer of his size is unique."
On the way USC shared the ball, Musselman said, "Our chemistry has been really good. They're playing off each other. I think we had 198 passes tonight, so we were a couple of passes short of where we want to be, but when you have 25 assists in a college game, that's an incredible number."
He also noted Rice’s playmaking and second-half rhythm: "I thought in the first half he was almost a little too unselfish. I don't think he really looked to score.
I thought in the second half, he got scored on and then I saw his eyes light up. Then he came down and hit three off the bounce.
But his nine assists were huge, especially with the way that he can score the basketball. I thought he played really well.
He usually has better scoring nights, but the assists were what the game called for tonight for him and our team."
Adonis Ratliff described the early stretch of his college career this way: " My first college experience was definitely eye-opening. We played a couple of exhibition games and we saw that there are certain things we need to work on. So we just got in the lab, worked on it, got in the film room and just came out and produced."
He added, "It was amazing. It's a blessing that I get to have a full season this year.
I'm just all around very excited to play. I have no complaints here about anything whatsoever."
USC now turns to Wichita State in the Caesars Lake Tahoe Classic on Sunday, Nov. 8.
The game will be broadcast on the CW at 8 p.m. PT.
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