Trojans tame Bruins at Pauley
Following a quadruple overtime win over No. 7 Arizona on Saturday, the Trojans hit the road to take on crosstown rivals UCLA in the consistently boisterous Pauley Pavilion on Wednesday night, downing the Bruins 89-75 and improving to 15-3 on the season and 4-1 in Pac-12 play.
Considering that the Trojans were sporting a 2-3 road record against teams with a combined 57-20 record, their 12-point victory over the Bruins becomes ever the more impressive.
Bouncing back from a below average performance against Arizona, redshirt junior guard Katin Reinhardt scored 14 points and pulled down five rebounds.
Along with Reinhardt’s 14, USC registered three double-digit scorers, with sophomore guard Jordan McLaughlin and freshman forward Chimezie Metu going for 23 and 21, respectively.
As for the home team Bruins, their night was not as dominant, even with the help of the rambunctious Pauley Pavilion crowd.
Through the first half of action, USC limited UCLA’s scoring attack to just 30 points on 32.4 percent shooting.
In terms of UCLA’s biggest scorers, Bryce Alford and Isaac Hamilton, the duo combined for just 19 points after averaging 33.9 combined points per game prior to the match.
Tensions were at an all-time high throughout the first half as freshman Bennie Boatwright was called for a flagrant foul on UCLA’s Prince Ali. After 20 minutes of play, the Bruins and Trojans combined for 40 total fouls, with USC converting 18-23 compared to UCLA’s 9-15.
“[Officiating] was pretty consistent across the board,” junior forward Darion Clark said. “It’s going to be physical night in and night out.”
USC’s biggest lead of the first half came with the clock winding down as they went up by 18 points capped by a Clark layup off of a McLaughlin pass.
At the end of the first half, USC was leading 48-30 after completing 18-39 from the field with 5-1 from beyond the arc, while the Bruins were just 11-34 from the field with just 2-11 from three-point range.
The Trojans dominated the glass with 11 more rebounds than UCLA in the first half thanks to consistent rebounding from six Trojans with four or more rebounds to their credit.
The second half started out with more of the same for the Trojans with 3-pointers on consecutive possessions for Boatwright and McLaughlin.
“Just shooting good shots, kicking it out, making a play for a teammate. Everybody was knocking down shots,” McLaughlin said. “We’ve been growing every game. Every single game from Washington on out we’ve done a better job at closing down the lead when we are up and making sure we have control of the game.”
The Trojans dominance would not be met without stiff competition from the Bruins.
Eventually, UCLA’s ball movement and inside play would cut the Trojans’ once formidable 18-point lead to as little as nine points in the second half due to contributions from Tony Parker and Thomas Welsh, who combined for 43 points.
One area which the Bruins outmatched the Trojans was in ball movement. On the night, USC recorded 14 assists, while UCLA dished out 19 in part from Isaac Hamilton and Bryce Alford.
Although UCLA’s turnover total was just nine, it was USC’s ability to capitalize off those turnovers which really secured a Trojan victory in Westwood. On the night, Southern California scored 11 points off turnovers.
USC’s shooting reigned supreme over UCLA as McLaughlin and sophomore guard Elijah Stewart were dynamite from deep, contributing seven of USC’s 20 three-pointers.
The real story of the night, however, was from USC freshmen phenom Chimezie Metu who set his career high for points with 21, beating his previous record of 16 set against Cal Poly on Dec. 17. Metu was outstanding all night for the Trojans, securing eight rebounds and contributing multiple, high-flying dunks off of 9-of-11 shooting.
“He played a huge game. It was really because of [Metu] why we got out to such a big lead,” McLaughlin said. “We were able to run in transition because of him. He’s a fierce competitor … He’s a freak athlete and the sky’s the limit for him.”
After USC’s commanding 91-75 win over UCLA on the road, the Trojans will head off to Eugene, Oregon, to take on the 13-3 Oregon Ducks in their fifth Pac-12 contest of the season.