USC Men's Basketball Dominates Cal Poly In Season Opener

Monday, November 3

Los Angeles, Calif.

6:30 p.m.

USC

1-0,0-0Big Ten

Cal Poly

0-1,0-0Big West

Cal Poly

Southern California

USC Men's Basketball Dominates Cal Poly In Season Opener

November 04, 2025 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Highlights Post-Game Press Conference

Jacob Cofie contributed the third double-double of his career against the Mustangs.

LOS ANGELES – USC Men's Basketball (1-0) clinched its first win of the season, taking down the Cal Poly Mustangs (0-1) 94-64 in its home opener in the Galen Center Monday night. The Trojans powered up in the second half with 57 points, and five players put up double-digit figures. The Cardinal and Gold wrapped up the night shooting 46 percent from the field to the Mustangs' 33 percent while outrebounding their opponent 44-40.

Setting a career-high, sophomore forward Jacob Cofie led USC with a double-double of 23 points and 10 rebounds. Two other Trojans also posted 20-point performances: senior forward Ezra Ausar and junior guard Rodney Rice. Rice also finished with a career-high eight assists, while Cofie and junior center Gabe Dynes had three blocks apiece.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Graduate guard Chad Baker-Mazara sank a corner three to get the offense started. The Trojans found their scoring touch quickly, carving out a 9-0 run. Their hot start was sparked by five points from graduate forward Jaden Brownell and capped off by a dunk from Cofie. USC's defense got it done, too, with a full-court press smothering Cal Poly. Rice went on to hit back-to-back threes to make it 19-9 at the 10-minute mark. The Trojans and Mustangs traded baskets for the remainder of the half before Cal Poly rolled in a layup right before the buzzer to cut the lead to six. USC held the advantage 37-31 heading into the break.

The Trojans capitalized on their first possession when they returned to the court for the second half, with Cofie finding the rim on a fast break. The Mustangs would score their first points of the frame from the charity stripe, but Rice answered with a 3-point dagger. As the first five minutes went on, Ausar delivered eight of the Trojans' 13 points to go along with an alley-oop from Rice to Cofie, making it 61-48. The Trojans didn't let up from there. A monster three-point play from Ausar and a block from Baker-Mazara kept the momentum with the Trojans. These plays drove a dominant 13-0 run, seeing contributions from graduate forward Amarion Dickerson, Rice and Cofie. USC never took its foot off the gas for the rest of the game, resulting in the 94-64 victory.

NOTABLES

Tonight's starting lineup featured Rodney Rice, Ezra Ausar, Chad Baker-Mazara, Terrence Williams II and Jacob Cofie. Williams is the only player in the lineup who started for the Trojans last season.
The Trojans pressed hard on defense, forcing the Mustangs to turn the ball over eight times in the first 10 minutes of the game. By the end of the game, USC caused 22 Mustang turnovers.
Jacob Cofie grabbed his first double-double of the season and the third of his career with a career-high 23 points and 10 rebounds. He also added three blocks.
Cofie wasn't the only Trojan to end with more than 20 points. Ezra Ausar and Rodney Rice also tallied 21 apiece. The last time three Trojans finished with 20 or more points was on Jan. 6, 2024, when Isaiah Collier (26), Boogie Ellis (22) and Kobe Johnson (21) did so against Stanford.
Along with his 21-point performance, Rice led the team in assists with eight, a new career-high for the junior.
Chad Baker-Mazara and Jaden Brownell also earned double-digit points in their first game as Trojans. Baker-Mazara ended the night with 12, while Brownell secured 10.
Jerry Easter II made his collegiate debut against the Mustangs. He concluded the game with seven rebounds and three assists.
Last season, the Mustangs were third in the nation for 3-pointers; tonight, the Trojans successfully held them to 29 percent from beyond the arc.
In total, 11 Trojans saw time on the court tonight.
USC is now 3-2 against Cal Poly all-time. Head Coach Eric Musselman is now 1-0 all-time against the Mustangs.

QUOTABLES
Coach Eric Musselman on Jacob Cofie's performance…
"He rim rolled with force. I really loved the interior passing of our bigs. Jacob wanted to play more minutes than he had seen in those two exhibition games. I think he was focused and really wanted to prove, 'Hey, I want more minutes.'"

Coach Eric Musselman on the agility of USC's forwards Ezra Ausar and Jacob Cofie…
"They're as quick as our guards. They're really like combo forwards, and they can move laterally and guard three men, and then they're pretty good shot blockers."

Coach Eric Musselman on the lineup…
"We want all of our players to feel like they either earn a spot or don't earn a spot. You do it by what you do in practice and what happens in games, but when we signed Rodney, we signed him to be a starter, but he still has to earn it."

Rodney Rice on his mindset on his ball handling…
"I'm capable of playmaking, getting my teammates the ball where they want it and where they need it, and as the season goes on, I feel like I can improve in that as well. This is just the start."

Jacob Cofie on his scoring…
"I just want the game to come to me. I put a lot of work and hours into my shot, so I'm definitely not hesitant to shoot it. So if I get open looks, like I did tonight, then I'll definitely shoot it."

UP NEXT
USC will be back in the Galen Center on Sunday, Nov. 9, to take on the Manhattan University Jaspers. Tip-off will be at 3 p.m. PT, with a live stream available on B1G+ and a radio stream on the USC Game Day app.