USC Basketball Too Small For Pac-12 Leaders Cal, Trojans Lose 75-49
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Harper Kamp went 7-for-7 in the 2nd half to lead Cal to victory. (Shotgun Spratling/Creative Commons)
Cal was led by the dynamic duo of Allen Crabbe and Harper Kamp. Crabbe, a sophomore guard, led the Golden Bears with 19 points and three blocks. His aggressive play brought Cal back into the game in the first half after a strong USC start.
If Crabbe was the story in the first half for Cal, senior forward Kamp was the story in the second. Going 7-for-7 in the latter half alone, Kamp finished with 18 points, 14 of which came after halftime.
USC was no match for the big men of Cal. The small Trojans lineup got out-rebounded by the aggressive Cal bigs 41-28. Freshman forward David Kravish collected 18 of Cal's rebounds. Kravish's monster performance kept USC off the glass and out of the game.
The Trojans got a solid, hard-fought performance from Maurice Jones, who dropped 17 points and had two steals. But he looked like the only Trojan who came to play.
Coach Kevin O'Neill wasn't making excuses after the game, but he did point out the obvious: "We're playing with basically one starter out there."
Maurice Jones led USC with 17 points. (Shotgun Spratling)
Injury-riddled from before the season began, the USC Trojans started only one player tonight, Maurice Jones, that was in the starting lineup when the season began. After losing big men Aaron Fuller and Dewayne Dedmon for the rest of season, it's been a struggle recently for the 'SC squad; and it showed tonight.
Despite all the injuries, USC played a determined first half. Hot shooting by MoJo, Byron Wesley (11 total points) and James Blasczyk (8) kept them in the game. But in the second half, Cal's second-ranked defense held the Trojans to a miserable shooting performance. The Trojans shot 26.5 percent from the field - and 8.3 percent from three - after the half.
Maurice Jones went to the bench early in the second half with three fouls and an apparent hand injury, and stayed out for about six minutes. By the time he returned, Cal's lead was in the double-digits and the momentum was handily in favor of the Golden Bears.
Washington's loss to Oregon and Colorado's loss to Arizona moves California into a tie for first place of the Pac-12 with the Huskies at 9-3. On the other hand, USC remains the Pac-12 bottom-dweller with an abysmal conference record of 1-11.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Cal guard Allen Crabbe returned home to his native Los Angeles and gave a strong performance for his loud and excited family and friends in the crowd of 3,707. Crabbe led the Golden Bears with 19 points and sparked their offense in the first half with fadeaway jumpers and pinpoint shooting from downtown. Cal's top scorer and the fourth-leading scorer in the Pac-12 had USC gasping for its breath all night.
PLAY OF THE GAME: This one's got to go to Mr. Crabbe as well. With Cal leading 33-29 with 32 seconds left in the first half, Trojan guard Maurice Jones held the ball in the backcourt, waiting for the last shot. However, an errant pass with seven seconds left fell into the arms of Cal guard Jorge Gutierrez, who threw an outlet pass to the streaking Crabbe. Crabbe laid it up and in with no time remaining on the clock. This play abruptly drove the momentum in the direction of the Golden Bears - and they never relinquished it.
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