USC secures crucial victory at Galen against UCLA

Sophomore guard Ethan Anderson has had an up and down season. 

The 6 feet, 1 inch point guard from Los Angeles, Calif. missed a month and a half due to a back issue. He had to undergo multiple diagnostic tests to pinpoint the injury. As a result, he hasn’t really found his footing this season and has experienced bouts of inconsistent play. 

Against UCLA, however, when the lights were the brightest and the stakes were the highest, Anderson showed up, hitting five 3-pointers for a career-high 19 points to lead USC to a 66-48 victory over UCLA at Galen Center Saturday night.

The Trojans have now won 10 of their last 11 games. They rarely faced adversity in the game against the Bruins, leading for almost 35 of the 40 minutes of play. 

As UCLA began to claw back after being down 10 at halftime, Anderson kept USC in charge. He exploded behind the arc, sinking three 3-point shots in a row to extend the Trojans’ lead to 14 with 11:48 remaining. 

With Anderson at the helm, USC never looked back.

Anderson emphasized the importance of this game for jumpstarting his play. 

“This was a very big night for me, having a career-high, and for my confidence and demeanor,” Anderson said in a virtual press conference Saturday night. “I hadn’t seen my shots fall. It just reminded me that I could play at the highest level. We did a great job of being unselfish tonight.” 

He not only hit threes but also controlled the pace of the offense with UCLA unable to decide between a zone and man-to-man defense throughout the game. 

USC head coach Andy Enfield praised Anderson’s ability to step up in the huge game.

“Ethan played tremendous tonight on both ends,” Enfield said.” He shot the ball at a high level. He has improved his shooting. He had a tough go early in the year with his injury. He’s still trying to get back to where he was. Tonight was a great game to get his confidence to where it needs to be for us to compete in the next nine games.” 

The night was not all about Anderson, though. 

Redshirt senior guard Tahj Eaddy complimented Anderson’s outstanding play with 16 points of his own. Freshman forward Evan Mobley had a quiet but respectable game with nine points and four field goals. 

With junior forwards Cody Riley and Jalen Hill unable to play, the undersized Bruins started the game with four guards and a 2-3 zone on the defensive end. 

The Trojans struggled to adjust early, having only one field goal in the first three minutes. However, with quick passes and smart plays, they proceeded to score four possessions in a row, giving them a cushion they would hold the rest of the game. 

After UCLA cut the lead down to one with 8:16 remaining in the first half, USC managed to go on a 13-4 run to close out the half. It was a span where the Bruins went six minutes with only one field goal — shooting 31% from the field for the entire half.

Enfield said this was the first half’s turning point. 

“We hadn’t gone over our zone offense in three weeks,” he said. “We had to dust off our zone plays. We’re actually very good against zones, but you have to make outside shots to open up the lane. Once we adjusted to it, they went back to man a little bit.”

With four blocks, Mobley spearheaded USC’s stifling defense, which held UCLA’s high-potent offense to a season-low 48 points. 

The Trojans also held the Bruins to 34% shooting from the field, way below UCLA’s average of 45.5% a game. UCLA also fared horribly from beyond the arc, shooting 16% from the three-point line. 

USC dominated the boards, grabbing 40 rebounds, including 13 offensive rebounds to UCLA’s 33. 

“Our defense was very good to hold them to 48 points. They’re good players.” Enfield said. “Our team did a good job of staying focused on the game plan and giving effort. UCLA is so dangerous offensively.”

With Saturday night’s win, USC is now tied for first-place in the Pac-12. The Trojan’s current performance defies the expectations set in early season rankings where they were projected to finish sixth in the conference.

“It’s sweet. We were confident coming into the season. We’re not surprised, this is what we expected,” Eaddy said when asked about being first in the conference. “We want to keep the ball rolling. We expect to win championships so this is the right step forward.”
The Trojans will look to extend their control of the conference Thursday at Washington. Tip off is at 7 p.m. at Alaska Airlines Arena.