Short-handed USC men get back into win column with win over Rutgers

LOS ANGELES — USC point guard Jordan Marsh strode around the court with a walking boot on his left leg on Saturday afternoon as his teammates warmed up.

He was on the bench for the game — day-to-day with a toe injury — instead of having his usual, speeding around defenders, irritating and disrupting them on defense while dribbling in for his own shots on offense.

But, once again, USC adapted to an injury and beat Rutgers 78-75 to get back into the win column.

The decision to bring in transfer point guard Kam Woods at the end of the fall semester once again paid off for the Trojans (16-6 overall, 5-6 Big Ten). One game after scoring a career-high 33 points at Iowa, Woods grabbed nine rebounds, dished out four assists and scored eight points.

Three players finished in double-digit figures when it came to scoring and USC shot 51% as a team from the field.

Ezra Ausar contributed 21 points and Jacob Cofie recorded a double-double for 15 points and 10 rebounds. Chad Baker Mazara tacked on 17 points.

A 13-2 scoring run — which included two free throws and a layup from Woods — vaulted USC ahead of Rutgers (9-13, 2-9) 17-6 with 11:48 left in the first half.

The free throws continued to fall, and the Trojans made eight of their 11 shots from the line while only allowing the Scarlet Knights four free shots.

USC’s physicality comes in part from players’ football backgrounds, and it doesn’t just get them free throw opportunities. It allows Trojans like 6-foot-10 forward Jacob Cofie to drive in for an unassisted dunk within the final eight minutes of the opening half, and Ezra Ausar to get easy layups.

Rutgers’ 6-foot-11 center Baye Fall recently had hand surgery and left the Knights vulnerable in the paint. Leading scorer Tariq Francis was still reliable on the offensive end and put up a game-high 26 points.

Alijah Arenas and Baker-Mazara each hit two 3-pointers within the first five minutes of the second half to get USC going. Arenas was playing in his fourth collegiate game since recovering from injury and contributed nine points.

USC continued to build on the lead that it had established early on and added 38 points in the second half on 45% shooting. Jerry Easter and Arenas played limited minutes due to foul trouble and Rutgers was able to come within three points of tying the game but were unable to score on their final possession.

The Trojans have nine games left in the regular season and next host Indiana on Tuesday.