Dylan Harper’s 25 points led five Rutgers scorers in double figures, and Harper dished nine assists to lead the Scarlet Knights to a 95-85 defeat of Southern California on Sunday in Piscataway, New Jersey.
Rutgers (14-14, 7-10 Big Ten Conference) built a 17-point lead late in the second half thanks to a 14-4 run that spanned 3:39. The Scarlet Knights needed the cushion as USC (14-13, 6-10) battled back to within six in the final minute.
Desmond Claude scored half of the Trojans’ points in an 8-0 run that made the score 87-80 with 1:18 remaining. Wesley Yates III hit a 3-pointer with 15 seconds remaining that brought USC within six at 91-85, but the Trojans could get no closer.
Rutgers capitalized on its free-throw opportunities as USC sent Scarlet Knights shooters to the foul line to stop the clock. Rutgers scored its final 10 points at the charity stripe to overcome a game-ending 3:34 field-goal drought.
The Scarlet Knights shot an outstanding 26 of 28 from the free-throw line, led by Jamichael Davis hitting all eight of his attempts. Davis finished with 13 points off the bench.
Lathan Sommerville, who shot 6 of 6 at the foul stripe, finished with 10 points. Ace Bailey scored 14 points and Tyson Acuff rounded out Rutgers’ double-figure-point scoring performances with 10 in reserve duty.
Harper, who had six steals, drove the Scarlet Knights offensively in all phases, including 4-of-8 shooting from 3-point range. Rutgers went 9 of 20 from long range and shot 55.6 percent from the field (30 of 54).
USC knocked down 7-of-15 attempts from 3-point distance, led by Yates’ 3-of-5 shooting. He scored 23 points.
Claude led all scorers with 30 points, and his 12-of-21 shooting from the floor helped the Trojans to a 34-of-66 evening (51.5 percent) from the field. No other USC scorers reached double figures, however, and the Trojans’ 10-of-14 disparity at the free-throw line helped make the difference.
The loss was USC’s third straight and fifth in its last six games. Rutgers, meanwhile, scored its first back-to-back wins since Jan. 13 and 16.
–Field Level Media
