{{pageModel.leagueAbbr}} {{pageModel.subtitle}} | Las Vegas Review-Journal
National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Southern California 72, Oregon 58
When: 9:00 PM ET, Monday, February 22, 2021
Where: Galen Center, Los Angeles, California
Officials: # Mike Schypers, # Deron White, # DG Nelson
Attendance: N/A

Tahj Eaddy scored 24 points, and No. 19-ranked USC pounced on Oregon early for a wire-to-wire, 72-58 win Monday in Los Angeles.

USC (19-4, 13-3 Pac-12) and Oregon came into Monday's matchup, a game rescheduled from Jan. 30 due to COVID-19 protocols, tied with UCLA atop the league in the loss column.

The Trojans, pursuing at least a share of the program's first regular-season conference championship since 1985, played with urgency from the opening tip. They built a double-digit lead by the first TV timeout, and it proved insurmountable behind Eaddy's earlier scoring touch and swarming defense.

Eaddy scored 21 first-half points, the same total as USC's halftime lead. The Trojans raced ahead with a 15-0 start and never led by fewer than 10 points from then on.

The Ducks went without a point for the game's first 5:54, and without a field goal until eight minutes in when Franck Kepnang scored on a hook. Oregon missed its first 12 field-goal attempts and went 10-for-29 from the floor before intermission.

The Ducks (14-5, 9-4) improved in the second half, shooting 6-for-9 from 3-point range and 13-for-28 overall. After trailing by as many 26 points, they went on a late 16-7 run that pulled them to within 10 points with just under six minutes left in regulation.

Oregon had an opportunity to cut the deficit to single digits, but a missed Chandler Lawson 3-point attempt turned into a wide-open Max Agbonkpolo made 3-pointer on the other end.

USC dominated on the glass with a 39-26 rebounding advantage, paced by Drew Peterson's 11, which matched his season high. The Trojans gave up a 43-36 rebounding disparity to Arizona in a loss on Saturday, which snapped USC's seven-game winning streak and surrendered its sole possession of first place in the conference.

Rebounding was key for the Trojans on Monday, as were assists. Seventeen of their 27 made field goals came off of assists, with Ethan Anderson's eight leading the way.

Peterson dished four to go with his 15 points.

LJ Figueroa and Eric Williams Jr. led Oregon with 14 points apiece. Williams grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.

Chris Duarte finished with 11 points and a team-high four assists in the loss, which snapped Oregon's five-game winning streak.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Oregon   Southern California
LJ Figueroa 14 Scoring Tahj Eaddy 24
Chris Duarte 4 Assists Ethan Anderson 8
Eric Williams Jr. 9 Rebounds Drew Peterson 11
Eugene Omoruyi 3 Free Throws Made Max Agbonkpolo 2
Will Richardson 4 Steals Ethan Anderson 2
Franck Kepnang 2 Blocks Isaiah White 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Oregon 58 40.4 7-17 5-9 10 25 4 11 10
Southern California 72 50.0 10-21 8-13 17 35 1 4 16