USC Stuns Cal To Win First Pac-12 Game Of Season
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Byron Wesley's hot start certainly was a key for the Trojans last night. (Brian Lee/Creative Commons)
The Trojans got off to a strong start. Byron Wesley led USC at the start of the game on by contributing five points to help USC build an early lead, which they never gave up throughout the entire game.
"My teammates did a really good job of applying me early on and to get some good, wide-open shots and then from that moment on, I think that we just were clicking," Wesley explained.
USC cruised through the first half of the game, shooting 55.6 percent from the field, including netting 33.3 percent of their three-pointers. Meanwhile, the Bears converted only 32.3 percent of their field goals attempts and 30 percent from downtown.
Wesley contributed six rebounds and nine points, as he played every minute of the first half. Julian Jacobs, J.T. Terrell and Strahinja Gavrilovic were each key members of the rotation as well. Omar Oraby and Pe'Shon Howard had solid first halves with nine and eight points respectively, and three rebounds each. Howard also had five first-half assists.
Berkeley's scoring was less spread out with Jordan Matthews and Justin Cobbs leading the game with 13 and 12 respectively. Cal's Tyrone Wallace had an off game, including missing his first five throws.
While controlling the pace of the game during the first half, USC kept Cal at bay. They led by as many as 15 points and were up 39-32 with seven seconds left in the first half. Pe'Shon Howard silenced the chants of a very enthusiastic, noisy Cal visitor section with a beautiful move and dribble finished with a smooth lay-up to extend the lead before halftime.
"Pe'Shon has been in these situations before, he is a very experienced player and I think he just makes us very confident as a team," Wesley said.
Nikola Jovanovic started his second half with two jumpers, to set the tone of the next 20 minutes. As Cal was hoping to interrupt the Trojans' quick pace, things only turned worse for California.
USC was able to build up their lead to 13 points with 7:30 left in the game. They consistently had strong ball movement on their possessions, controlled the clock, and due to Andy Enfield's frequent substitutions, showed no signs of exhaustion. Jovanovic ended up scoring a career-high 23 points. Wesley proved to be a reliable part of the Trojans' game plan as well, posting 14 points and seven rebounds.
The team also seemed to be harmonizing despite many rotations. Cal appeared to have no response and could not find a recipe against the Trojans offensive efforts. USC showed several of the fast-paced, uptempo offense that Enfield had envisioned for the team.
When Cal surged back with just under two minutes left in the game, Jovanovic sealed the deal. He dunked the ball to demoralize the Bears to give the Trojans a 10-point advantage. Jovanovic also made all of his free-throws at the end of the game to seal the deal for the Trojans, as they won 77-69.
"Nikola [Jovanovic] is really talented," Byron Wesley said. "Down the line he just is a really great player. He has had some really good games and he never stops working.
USC outperformed Cal on the glass as well, rebounding the ball 37 times. Pe'Shon Howard had 10 assists by himself, while all of Berkeley had 12 total. The Trojans shot 35.7 percent from downtown and converted 51.9 percent of their field goals.
With this win, the Trojans finally clinched their first victory within the conference.
"We just went to practice every day trying to get through it and finally winning again was good for the team. Now we just got to play more as a team" Jovanovic said. Wesley acknowledged that the win was a big confidence boost, stating, "It means a lot, but we're still 1-5 in the Pac. We still got to continue to work and win some more conference games."
The Trojans now go on to face Stanford at home before heading back on the roadto face Oregon and Oregon State.
