USC Men’s Basketball Takes Down Manhattan 114-83

Sunday, November 9

Los Angeles, Calif.

3 p.m.

USC

2-0,0-0Big Ten

114

Manhattan

1-1,0-0MAAC

Manhattan

Southern California

114

Chad Baker-Mazara preparing to drive to the basket against Manhattan

USC Men’s Basketball Takes Down Manhattan 114-83

November 09, 2025 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Highlights Press Conference

The Trojans’ 114 points sets a Galen Center record and is the fifth-highest in program history.

LOS ANGELES – USC Men's Basketball (2-0) set a home win record in its 114-83 win over the Manhattan Jaspers (1-1). With 114 total points, the Trojans recorded their highest single-game scoring output since the Trojans scored 117 against Arizona State on March 7, 1998. The victory saw seven Trojans in double figures and contributions from 11 different players.

After back-and-forth action in the first frame, USC fired off a 59-point effort in the second half behind strong drives in the paint and quick moves in transition. The Trojans wrapped up outshooting the Jaspers 50 percent to their 39 percent from the field, and USC pulled down 55 boards to Manhattan's 32.

Graduate combo player Chad Baker-Mazara led the team with a career-high 26 points. Sophomore forward Jacob Cofie recorded his second consecutive double-double and set a career-high five assists, and senior Ezra Ausar had a 17-point showing in the win.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Ausar's dunk gave USC its first points of the game. The Trojans shot out to a 7-2 lead, helped by a 3-pointer from graduate forward Terrance Williams II less than four minutes in. The Jaspers stayed even with them, as the first half saw the score tied up six times. In that action, junior guard Jordan Marsh scored his first points as a Trojan, striking from behind the arc twice. Manhattan took its first lead 23-22 at 8:31, but Baker-Mazara drilled back-to-back threes from downtown to push USC out front. On a 9-0 scoring run, the Trojans took their first double-digit lead behind a slam dunk from Cofie and a free throw from junior guard Rodney Rice. After that, USC kept its foot on the gas pedal. In the last three minutes, Baker-Mazara scored the next 11 points — sandwiching a Williams jumper — behind a pair of converted 3-point plays and shots from the charity stripe. USC wrapped up the first half of action outshooting Manhattan 47 percent to 43 percent. The Trojans made six threes on nearly 55 percent accuracy, allowing USC to lead 55-37 at the break.

The Jaspers struck first to start the second frame, but within the first few minutes, the Trojans carved out an 8-0 run beginning with a midrange splash and a shifty layup from Rice. Five minutes in, USC's momentum continued to catapult forward after Cofie delivered his third block of the afternoon — matching his career-high — and found Ausar on the other end to give the Trojans a 68-45 lead. USC kept widening the margins with less than 10 minutes to go, crafting another 8-0 run that featured four Trojans in the scoring frenzy. As Cofie hit double-digit figures off a pick-and-roll play and senior Jaden Brownell sank two free throws, USC secured a 30-point lead at the 11-minute mark. Brownell's reverse layup at 6:16 made him the seventh player with double-digit figures and eclipsed the 100-point mark. The Trojans kept the surge up for the rest of the course. Just before the final buzzer, freshman Jerry Easter II dropped a layup in, topping off the 114-83 victory.

NOTABLES

With 114 total points, the Trojans recorded their highest single-game scoring output since 1998. This is the fifth-most points scored in USC history. Tonight's win also set a new Galen Center scoring record. The previous record was 103 points, set by the Trojans against UNC Asheville on March 13, 2018.
USC showcased its offensive depth as seven Trojans scored in double digits. The last time USC had seven players score at least 10 points was against San Diego State on Nov. 17, 1998.
USC also surpassed 55 rebounds. The last time the Trojans registered 55 or more rebounds was on Feb. 3, 2022, against Arizona State, when they secured 58.
Ezra Ausar opened the game with the Trojans' first basket and finished with 17 points, surpassing 1,100 career points.
Chad Baker-Mazara had an explosive first half, recording 20 points. The last Trojan to score at least 20 points in a half was Boogie Ellis in a win over No. 5 Arizona on March 5, 2024. Baker-Mazara went on to surpass his career-high, finishing with 26 points. This marks the eighth time he scored 20 or more points in a game.
Jacob Cofie delivered another dominant performance, achieving his second double-double of the season in as many games and the fourth of his career with 10 points and 10 rebounds. The last time a USC player contributed back-to-back double-doubles was Evan Mobley in the 2021 NCAA Tournament. He secured 17 points and 11 rebounds against Drake on March 20, 2021, and then grabbed 10 points and 13 rebounds the next game against Kansas on March 22, 2021.
Terrance Williams II reached a personal milestone, making his 100th career three-pointer. He finished the night with 10 points and seven rebounds.
Rodney Rice put up 14 points for the Trojans in the game and tied his career high in rebounds with 6.
Jaden Brownell made big plays for the Trojans tonight as he finished with 13 points in 13 minutes played.
Jordan Marsh made his first basket as a Trojan with a deep three, finishing with 11 points.
Tonight's starting lineup featured Rodney Rice, Ezra Ausar, Chad Baker-Mazara, Terrance Williams II and Jacob Cofie. This lineup is now 2-0 on the season. Impressively, all five starters finished with double-digit points.
This marked the first meeting in program history between the Trojans and the Jaspers. USC is now 1-0 against Manhattan, and Coach Musselman is also 1-0 all-time against the Jaspers.
USC scored 62 of its points in the paint tonight, nearly double the number that Manhattan did.
EJ Neal Jr. tallied his first career points as a Trojan with a dunk against the Jaspers.
All 15 available players for USC saw time in today's game.

QUOTABLES
Coach Eric Musselman on the team's offensive balance and execution:
"We had seven guys in double digits, that doesn't happen often across college basketball. Scoring 114 points and only turning the ball over 12 times shows how well we shared the ball and pushed the pace."

Coach Eric Musselman on Chad Baker-Mazara's breakout performance:
"I thought it was a breakout game for him. When you look at 26 points in 23 minutes, it wasn't like he played 32 to get there. I think it meant something to Chad, and we're going to need him and Rodney to carry some of our offensive load late in games."

Coach Eric Musselman on building consistency heading into Big Ten play:
"It's easy to buy in, but the question is, can you get teams to stay in? You have to play every possession to your potential. We didn't mess around with the game tonight, and that's a sign of growth."

Ezra Ausar on maintaining consistent effort throughout the game:
"We know the standard, obviously. We knew that we weren't living up to the standard. It doesn't matter about points when it comes to this team if you don't bring the effort. So we just knew that we weren't playing with that effort and intensity into the standard. So we just came out, just super aggressive."

Chad Baker-Mazara on surpassing his career-high:
"I look up and see 24. I said, Coach, I need at least one more bucket. He said, 'Just catch up, catch your breath, and come back in there, man.' I really appreciate him for doing that. Sometimes, you know you're gonna beat your career high. It was really special being able to do that."

UP NEXT
USC will stay in Los Angeles as they play the Illinois State Redbirds inside the Intuit Dome on Friday, Nov. 14, as part of the Naismith Hall of Fame series. Tip-off will be at 4:30 p.m. PT with a live stream available through Peacock and a radio stream through the USC Game Day app.