Coach Eric Musselman and the #21 USC Trojans came to Berkeley Wednesday night, the second consecutivve game for the Bears against a ranked opponent. In the rivalry dating back to 1916, Cal leads the all-time series 138-134, with the Golden Bears winning their last matchup in Los Angeles in November of 2024. The Trojans come in 2-0 record, led by Big-12 Player of the Week Alijah Arenas (26 points, 6 rebounds per game).
With Lee Dort still recovering from a lower leg injury, Montas Kocanas once again earned the start at Center. Cal raced out to a 9-2 lead, punctuated by a Sammie Yeanay steal and breakaway dunk that forced USC to call a quick timeout to regroup. Cal was confident and not giving an inch to USC’s superior size.
Neither team shot well early on. Cal started 5-of-15 (2-of-10 from three-point range), while USC started 5-of-17(2-of 9 from deep), as both teams were comfortable going up tempo and settling for reasonable long range shots that weren’t connecting. Cal held a 16-14 lead midway through the first half.
Sammie Yeanay picked up his second foul at the 10-minute mark, sending him to the bench for over five minutes. USC took their first lead 21-20 at the 8-minute point, as their size generated 11 offensive rebounds which were led to 7 second chance points.
Cal continued to get good looks from long range and was not shy in bombing away. Unfortunately, Cal only connected on 2-of-14 shots from deep for the half, while USC shot slightly better(4-of-14). Without Dort, USC was able to get too many second chance opportunities, as USC took a 39-30 lead into halftime
Cal started the second half with a 6-0 run to close the gap; USC responded with a coopld buckets to maintain a 7-point lead. Samie Yeanay picked up his third foul two minutes into the second half, once again sending him to the bench. The story remained the same; Cal could not shoot, USC was getting too many second chances and was shooting just a little better as they pushed their lead to 51-40 with just under 14 minutes left. Sammie Yeanay was leading Cal in scoring with 11 points in only thirteen minutes. Madsen chose to put him back into the game in an attempt to bring Cal’s offense to life. He promptly picked up his fourth foul and was sent back to the bench.
Nojus Andrusaitis scored seven straight points to close the gap to 53-49 with eleven minutes remaining. The Cal crowd was energized as Cal was not backing down from the challenge.
USC maintained a four point lead until the 7 minute mark, 63-59. The Trojans went on a 6-0 spurt on a couple Cal defensive lapses to push the lead to ten with just under five minutes left.
Cal was not able to close the gap. It was a return to the first half script; Cal could not score, while USC successfully executed their offense and frequently broke down Cal’s high trap defensive scheme. Jake Wilkins fouled out towards the end, and Sammie Yeanay was limited due to his foul trouble throughout the game. USC closed out the 77-65 win.
Cal shot 36% for the game, 22% from long range. Sammie Yeanay led Cal with 14 points in only 17 minutes of court time. Nojus Andrusaitis added 13 points.
USC outrebounded Cal 53-36, with Andrusaitis leading the Bears with 6 boards. . Coach Madsen postgame; “We got punked on the glass.”
Note and Observations
Lee Dort missed his fourth consecutive game. Coach Madsen, on Lee Dort’s absence and it’s impact on rebounding;
“We can’t use that as a crutch. We have to have some other guys step up and rebound the ball. Tonight I told the locker room, our two guards led us, with Nojus Andrusaitis with six. TT Carr, a 5’ 11” guard, with five. We need more rebounding, and I’ve got to find a way.”
Cal would play 25 seconds of solid on-ball defense, only for it to break down at the end and allow an easy shot. Or, the on-ball defense was simply beat by a fadeaway 20-foot jumper from Arenas or Rice. Game respect game.
DK Dhut did not play, as Montas Kocanas and Dominykas Daubaris took all the Center minutes. Kocanas and Daubaris were…competent. They combined for only 8 points and 5 rebounds. They both showed good court knowledge and positioning, and Kocanas displayed decent low post moves on a couple baskets. They were simply outmatched by USC, namely F Jacob Cofie’s 13 points and 15 rebounds.
Amier Ali only played two minutes in the first half, his only minutes of the game. DK Dhut did not log any minutes. When Dort comes back, expect a core 7-man rotation of Dort, Kocanas, Ross, Andrusaitis, Cooper, Wilkins, and Yeanay. Carr, Ruff, Daubaris and Ali will be mixed in based on matchup and game situations.
The announced attendance tonight was 5,087. The loudest cheer of the night was when USC’s Alijah Arenas missed two consecutive free throws, triggering a free burger giveaway at Berkeley’s Shake Shack for all game ticket holders.
A close second for loudest cheer was for the student at halftime who sunk a half court shot to earn free room and board for a year.
Sammie had a steal and breakaway dunk to bring us within 2 at 32-30 . . . and then it all fell apart
TT also let us in rebounds against Houston (with 9) so we’re really going to have to work on non-guards hitting the boards
Thanks BP