Desmond Claude scored 22 of his game-high 28 points in the second half and overtime, and No. 14 seed Southern California recovered after coughing up a 15-point lead to oust No. 11 seed Rutgers from the Big Ten tournament, 97-89, in Wednesday’s double-overtime contest in Indianapolis.
Capitalizing on a sluggish offensive start for Rutgers, USC (16-16) jumped to an early 24-12 advantage in the last of Wednesday’s three opening-round games. The Trojans’ advantage swelled to 15 points, and was as many as 13 points in the second half before the Scarlet Knights rallied.
Behind 13 second-half points from Dylan Harper, who finished with 27 points, and 11 points after intermission from Ace Bailey, Rutgers (15-17) chipped away at the deficit before holding the lead for almost the entire final three minutes.
But trailing 73-71, USC sent Jeremiah Williams to the free-throw line. Williams, a 68.3 percent foul shooter on the season coming into the Big Ten tournament, missed both attempts.
USC took advantage when Claude went one-on-one to the basket, scoring what proved to be the overtime-forcing layup after Harper’s last-ditch fadeaway attempt on the other end airballed.
Rutgers, playing the extra frames without Bailey who fouled out, could not keep pace with the USC trio of Claude, Wesley Yates III and Rashaun Agee. Yates scored 24 points and led the Trojans to a 10-of-23 3-point shooting effort with a perfect 4-for-4 performance from beyond the arc.
Agee added 23 points. The three powered USC’s decisive push to opening the second overtime, first on a Claude lay-in then with back-to-back 3-pointers from Agee and Yates. The quick eight points gave the Trojans an advantage they held the rest of the way.
Agee also contributed on the glass, grabbing a game-high 11 rebounds. Chibuzo Agbo also posted a double-double for USC with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Harper flirted with a triple-double in the loss, grabbing eight rebounds and dishing eight assists. Bailey had 17 points when he fouled out, and his three steals helped fuel Rutgers to a 31-7 advantage in points off turnovers.
Rutgers’ ability to score on takeaways nearly sent the Scarlet Knights to Thursday’s second round. Coach Steve Pikiell implemented a full-court pressure defense in the second half that disrupted USC’s rhythm and sparked the Scarlet Knights comeback.
Shooting just 6-of-30 from 3-point range, however, Rutgers could not overcome the deficiency from outside.
