USC Basketball Falls To Gaels, Will Face New Mexico In Consolation Game

Thursday, November 28

Palm Springs, Calif.

6:00 p.m.

USC

5-2,0-0Big Ten

Saint Mary's

7-0,0-0WCC

Saint Mary's (CA)

Southern California

Photo by: Chris Mora

USC Basketball Falls To Gaels, Will Face New Mexico In Consolation Game

November 28, 2024 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

USC Men's Basketball fell to Saint Mary's with a score of 71-36.

PALM DESERT, Calif. – USC Men's Basketball (5-2) kicked off the Acrisure Classic in Palm Desert as they took on the Saint Mary's College Gaels. Despite the Trojans' strong start, they could not regroup in the second half as they fell 71-36 to the Gaels.

"We have a lot of work to do," said Head Coach Eric Musselman. "I'm extremely disappointed in so many different areas. Hopefully we will come out and play much better basketball tomorrow. We really struggled offensively and defensively. Other than limiting ourselves to only 10 turnovers, there weren't many positives to take on either side of the ball."

Saint Mary's came out quick, scoring on their first three baskets. Trojans responded with four field goals of their own, only allowing the Gaels to pull ahead by one. This first half continued to be a gritty battle between these two teams. When the Trojans would make a basket, the Gaels would respond. And the same would go in the other direction. The lead changed 10 times in this half alone before someone could pull ahead. Unfortunately for the Trojans, the Gaels were the ones to get hot. Saint Mary's went on a 14-2 run that resulted in USC heading to the locker room down by 11 as the score sat at 32-21 in favor of the Gaels.

Saint Mary's picked up where they left off as the Trojans couldn't get in a rhythm on offense. No matter what Southern California did, they could not drain a shot for seven minutes while Saint Mary's continued to add points on the scoreboard. By the time USC could execute on offense, the Gaels' lead was too big to close as USC lost to Saint Mary's 71-36.

NOTABLES

This is the seventh-straight game where USC switched its starting lineup. The starting five tonight included (F) Josh Cohen, (F) Terrance Williams II, (F) Matt Knowling, (F) Saint Thomas, and (G) Desmond Claude.
(G) Chibuzo Agbo surpassed 1,000 career points on Thursday evening. Agbo finished the game with eight points and now sits at 1,001 total career points. Along with that, Agbo led the Trojans in rebounding with five boards.
Josh Cohen has been the first Trojan to hit double digits in four games this season (UT Arlington, Idaho State, Grambling and now Saint Mary's).
With 12 points this evening, Josh Cohen officially surpassed 1,700 career points (1,710 total).
Kevin Patton Jr. recorded his third dunk of the season on Thursday evening, throwing one down within two minutes of coming off the bench.
The Trojans shot just 26 percent from the field against Saint Mary's, going 13-50.
USC did not make a shot from beyond the arc on Thursday, going 0-12 against the Gaels.
USC is now 0-1 in countable games at Acrisure Arena. The Trojans beat Gonzaga in a preseason exhibition game 96-93 on Oct. 26 of this year.

UP NEXT
The Trojans will be back in action tomorrow, Nov. 29, in the Acrisure Arena as they play in the consolation game against New Mexico to see who will come away with third place. Fans can watch the action on truTV/MAX at 9 p.m. PT.