This one really hurt. After managing to take the lead after trailing by 19 points at one point in the first half, the USC Trojans fell 66-60 to No. 25 San Diego State Sunday night at the Galen Center. USC falls to 3-3 on the season, while San Diego State improves to 4-1.  

Forward Eric Wise was the only Trojan in double digits, leading USC with 14 points to go with seven rebounds despite nursing a sore foot, according to head coach Kevin O’Neill. Forward/center Dewayne Dedmon had seven points and 10 rebounds, while point guard Jio Fontan had nine points and tied a season high with nine assists. 

Forced to claw back from an early 31-12 deficit, the Trojans were on their way to a razor-thin finish before an Omar Oraby technical foul led to a five-point play for the Aztecs. 

Trailing 56-55 with two minutes, 18 seconds remaining, USC point guard Jio Fontan fouled SDSU’s Xavier Thames. No big deal right? Except that following the foul, USC’s new center in Oraby clotheslined the Aztecs’ Jamaal Franklin, who might have overreacted to the blow but nonetheless drew the flagrant foul.  Thames hit one of two free throws, and then Franklin made both and hit a sideline jumper to put USC in a 61-55 hole. All of the momentum the Trojans had built throughout an inspired and intense second half was gone in one possession. After a quick lay-up by Wise, James Rahon hit a dagger of a three-pointer to put the Aztecs up 64-57 with just over a minute to play. The Trojans were done. 

“We can’t be immature,” O’Neill said after the game regarding the five-point play. “Those things come back to bite you down the stretch.”

“We have to do a better job controlling the guys on the court,” added Fontan.

The Trojans didn’t make this game easy for themselves. USC missed their first five shots, the Aztecs couldn’t miss, and USC found themselves in a quick 12-2 deficit. That deficit quickly grew , and the cold-shooting Trojans found themselves down 31-12 with 3:49 left in the opening half. Then, the Trojans finally came to life. A three-point play by forward Aaron Fuller was followed by a perfect three-pointer from shooting guard J.T. Terrell, and the Trojans went on an 11-4 run to close the half trailing 35-23. Despite shooting 25.8 percent to the Aztecs’ 52 percent from the field, the Trojans were only down 12 points.

Whatever O’Neill told the team to motivate them at halftime, it worked. Forward Ari Stewart nailed a pair of three-pointers, Eric Wise saw his jumper start to fall, and the Trojans went on an 18-4 run to go up 41-39, their first lead of the game. San Diego State couldn’t buy a bucket, the Galen Center was finally alive, and USC was making all of the hustle plays that had gone against them in the first half. 

San Diego State promptly went on a 7-0 run, but the Trojans weren’t done and the two squads traded baskets until Aztec coach Steve Fisher called a timeout with USC trailing 56-55 with 3:23 left. It was all downhill from then. Two possessions later Fontan fouled Skylar Spencer, Oraby got into a scuffle with Franklin, and a one-point SDSU lead turned into six. 

USC caused problems for Preseason All-American Jamaal Franklin, who shot four of 15 from the field. Unfortunately, he was perfect in eight tries from the free throw line and finished with 17 points and nine rebounds. Rahon also had 17 points to lead the Aztecs, while Thames chipped in 14. 

The Trojans only lost by six to a ranked team while shooting 33.3 percent, but some disturbing trends from the young season continued to show against the Aztecs. Obviously, there’s the shooting. Leading scorer J.T. Terrell did not have his shooting touch, and went two for 11 from the field en route to a season-low seven points. Fontan went into Sunday night shooting 22 percent from the floor, and barely improved that line with a three for 12 performance. The Trojans’ starting trio of guards went six for 29 overall from the field, a numbingly low number that must improve for the Trojans to find success in conference play.

Fontan is the team’s primary ball-handler and, despite his nine assists, still has work to do in helping the Trojans improve their ball movement. Too often the Trojans hold on the ball too long and are forced into a bad, consisted shot. The Trojans had 26 points in the paint and doubled the Aztecs in fast-break points (16-8), but need improvement in creating open shots out of set plays. The fact that six players in USC’s 10-man rotation didn’t play last season makes this offensive disconnect less surprising, but one should hope that the offensive execution sees improvement.

“We’re going to be a good team once we start making shots, doing a good job defensively for not 30, but 40 minutes, and [become] a team that doesn’t fall pray to stupid, unprofessional things that lose games,” O’Neill added.

Just like what happened in their 94-64 thrashing at the hands of Illinois in the Maui Invitational opener last week, the Trojans started slow. While their 29-8 run was a good sign, the fact that the Trojans’ cold shooting and poor defense puts them into early-game holes is not a trend the team wants to continue. “Our guys need to come out and do their job,” O’Neill said. “Maybe we have to change the starting lineup.”

The Trojans also shot just 55 percent from the free throw line, with many of the misses coming in crucial spots in the second half. 

USC will end November on a losing note, but Sunday’s roaring comeback gives hope for the upcoming slate. The Trojans now hit the road to take on Nebraska on December 3, then travel south to take on New Mexico on December 5, with the Trojan faithful hoping that Terrell and Fontan find their shot somewhere between Los Angeles and Lincoln.