USC Trojans Outlast UC San Diego Tritons in Latest Exhibition

The USC Trojans Men's basketball team made their first of three trips to San Diego on Saturday as they faced the UC San Diego Tritons. Despite the back-and-forth affair, it was the Trojans who came out victorious in an 80-74 contest.

Rodney Rice led his squad in scoring in consecutive exhibitions, scoring 26 points on 7-for-15 shooting and adding five assists. 

This is the first ever meeting between the two programs. 

USC is coming off a loss to the UNC Tar Heels last Friday to kick off their slew of exhibition games, with Rodeny Rice leading the Trojans with 22 points on 7-for-15 shooting.

This game was a punch-for-punch slugfest in the first half, as the Tritons kept good pace with the Trojans. At one point, the Tritons found themselves up 11-6 after knocking down a pair of threes, but USC countered quickly by going on a 12-1 run to retake the lead. 

By the end of the first half there were seven lead changes and five ties. 

The Trojans entered the halftime tunnel up by a slim 40-38 lead after being down 36-33 following a 9-0 run from the Tritons in the latter frames of the first half. USC was moving the ball well in that first half, tallying nine assists as a team and adding three blocks. 

The recipe for success for USC in their second exhibition was their effectiveness at the free-throw line. In total, the Trojans went 16-for-19 at the line, including a 12-for-15 line sheet in the second half alone. 

USC's biggest lead came in the second half with less than 15 minutes left in regulation with a 10-point lead. The Tritons and Treysen Eaglestaff fought their way back into the game and forced Eric Musselman to buckle down with less than five minutes left.

During crunch time, the Trojans relied on the free points at the line and nearly doubled their block total in the second half alone. Rice led the Trojans in points, but Alijah Arenas made his presence felt in consecutive exhibition games as well.

Arenas scored 22 points on 9-for-15 shooting and was second in the team lead for rebounds with eight in 37 minutes. 

Looking ahead, the Trojans have their final exhibition game on Oct. 23 against the San Diego State Aztecs. Following that, USC will kick off its season with its opener on Nov. 2 against the Milwaukee Panthers at the Galen Center and will also mark the start of Musselman's third year at the helm of the Trojans.