USC Ends Season With Loss To Colorado, As Great Effort Can't Mask Second-Half Collapse
Comments (0)
Senior J.T. Terrell in the center of the huddle during USC's battle against Colorado. (twitter/@Pac12Networks
"It would've been nice to make one [three-point basket], or two or three or four or five or six or seven," said coach Andy Enfield, channeling his inner LeBron James. "It's been a weakness of ours all year. We need some guys to make shots. Down the stretch, we ran some great action, we shared the ball and got wide-open looks. And they didn't fall."
Enfield needed USC's final three of the game to fall. Colorado was up by three points, and got the ball back after guard Askia Booker grabbed an offensive rebound and threw the ball off guard Julian Jacobs out of bounds before he stepped on the line. Off of Colorado's inbounds play, Josh Scott missed a layup after a great defensive effort by Jacobs, and USC had one final chance to tie the game. Forward Byron Wesley's three at the buzzer hit off the front rim, allowing Colorado to escape 59-56.
The Trojans fought hard in their final game of the season, as they played great defense. They forced Colorado to turn the ball over 13 times, and held them to a 22 percent clip from three-point range. Considering perimeter defense had been a major weakness for USC, they really stepped up on Wednesday night defending the area.
On the other hand, USC struggled on offense. Even though they shot greater than 50 percent on their two-point shot attempts, they relied too heavily on jump shots. Senior center Omar Oraby started the game off quickly by scoring on two consecutive layups. But Colorado then changed up their defensive strategy.
"Colorado is a good team, and they do a great job of packing the paint. We did a good job going [into the paint] in the first half. It was a grind," explained senior point guard Pe'Shon Howard. "Coach gives us a lot of confidence, and told us to take the shot to hopefully open them up on defense. Like I said, a few of them, especially by me, were quick. They did a good job taking advantage and getting out in transition."
Howard struggled in his final game in a USC uniform, making only one out of nine three-point attempts. Fellow senior guard J.T. Terrell only shot 25 percent from the field on eight shots, including a couple lackluster opportunities in transition. Junior guard Byron Wesley, as he's done all year, led the Trojans on offense by scoring 23 points and driving often against Colorado's defense.
Colorado was led by guard Askia Booker and center Josh Scott in the second half. Booker was on fire, and his 13 second-half points were a major contribution to the Buffaloes when they needed a jolt on offense. Scott struggled throughout most of the game, however he made three layups late in the second half to key an 8-0 Colorado run that put them up 58-50 with just over three minutes to go.
"I was just being physical with him [in the beginning] and tried to push him out without letting him touch the ball deep," explained Oraby about his defense on Scott. "In the end I got in foul trouble, so I was trying to stay out of foul trouble and stay in the game."
While USC finished in the cellar of the Pac-12 this year, their late season stretch had a few positive signs of their progression. They won on the road against Washington State, and only lost to Washington by seven points two nights later. They ended by giving Colorado quite the scare in the MGM Grand Arena.
"I'm proud of our team, they played hard. I think you saw them today give great effort. We played well enough defensively to win the game. This team has never quit, even though we haven't won a lot of games in the Pac-12," stated Enfield. "We've had great practices, and we've seen a lot of improvement from particular players. I think the future is very bright."
Reach Senior Sports Editor Max Meyer by email.
