Chad Baker-Mazara filled his stat line with 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists and USC won its fourth in a row with a 102-63 victory over Division III UC Santa Cruz on Sunday in Los Angeles.
Gabe Dynes led all scorers with 16 points. Ezra Ausar added 15 for the Trojans (12-1), who ended their nonconference schedule on a high note. Jacob Cofie chipped in 14 points for a USC team that shot 56.3% from the field and scored 90-plus points for the sixth time this season.
UC Santa Cruz (6-7), playing its only Division I opponent of the season, got 13 points from Aidan Carleson and 11 out of Thomas Conley. Both players made three shots from beyond the arc. The Banana Slugs hit 13 of their 25 attempts from 3-point range, but shot only 40.7% from the field.
The Trojans were originally scheduled to play Brown, but the Bears canceled due to the fatal shooting on campus last weekend.
The Banana Slugs filled in and hung around early on thanks to five baskets from 3-point range, the last by Hunter Kennedy with 11:58 left that gave the visitors a 15-14 lead.
USC answered with a 3-pointer from Ryan Cornish 23 seconds later, putting the Trojans up 17-15.
Leading 19-18, USC used a 11-2 run to build a 30-20 lead, with Cofie punctuating it with a dunk with 5:14 to go.
The Banana Slugs made eight 3-pointers in the opening half, including two by Leo Wagner, whose shot from distance with 4:54 left cut the USC lead to 30-23.
The Trojans dominated the remainder of the half, capitalizing on a 15-3 run to take a 45-26 advantage into the break.
Three straight dunks, including two by Ausar, extended the Trojans’ lead to 63-36 with 14:35 left.
Dynes’ layup at the 12:01 mark gave USC a 30-point cushion (69-39).
–Field Level Media
