The Oregon men’s basketball team ended its trip to Los Angeles in style Saturday, defeating USC 61-51 at the Galen Center.
The win gave Oregon a clean sweep of USC on the season. The Ducks have not lost to USC since March 5, 2009.
In a low-scoring first half, Oregon led throughout. The Ducks shot just 33 percent before intermission, but held the Trojans to a 26 percent clip. A three-pointer by senior guard Jay-R Strowbridge, just before the buzzer, provided a 25-19 lead at halftime.
It was in the second half that Oregon truly got things going. Freshman guard Johnathan Loyd made a layup, then followed 30 seconds later with a three-pointer to push the lead to 30-19. Just over a minute into the half, USC head coach Kevin O’Neill was forced to call a full timeout.
The Trojans responded with a 6-0 run to cut the lead to seven, but the Ducks simply refused to let their foot off the pedal. USC came as close as four points before Oregon truly began running.
With 11:50 remaining, a steal from senior forward Joevan Catron led to a layup by junior guard Malcolm Armstead. It was the beginning of a 13-3 run, capped off by a three-pointer by junior forward Tyrone Nared, that effectively put the game away for good.
When the final whistle sounded, Oregon had come away with a convincing 10-point victory. The Ducks shot 42 percent from the field, while limiting USC to just 37 percent.
Armstead led the way for Oregon with 14 points and five assists. Sophomore forward E.J. Singler chipped in 11 points, while Catron contributed nine points and a team-high seven rebounds.
On USC’s side, junior forward Nikola Vucevic was the only player to hit double figures in scoring. He finished with a monstrous 22-point, 16-rebound performance, but found little support from his teammates. Guards Maurice Jones and Donte Smith each added nine points.
Oregon’s next game comes at home Saturday against Oregon State at 1 p.m.
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Ducks trounce Trojans, complete sweep
Daily Emerald
February 13, 2011