USC trailed throughout its Saturday showdown at UCLA, but all that mattered in the latest installment of the rivalry series was the final shot ... yet again.
Ethan Anderson was struggling to find a taker for the inbounds pass under the Trojans' basket with 3.7 seconds left on the clock before dumping it to Tahj Eaddy in the left corner. Eaddy quickly unloaded an off-balance, falling-away 3-pointer that dropped through the net with 1.4 seconds remaining to send USC to a dramatic, momentous 64-63 win over the Bruins inside Pauley Pavilion.
It brought back memories of Jonah Mathews' game-winning 3-pointer in the final seconds of the teams' rivalry showdown at Galen Center last March.
But more importantly, it gave the Trojans (21-6, 15-5 Pac-12) hope still for a conference championship, if Oregon happens to lose to Oregon State on Sunday. Either way, USC has fresh momentum heading into the Pac-12 tournament, where it will be at least the No. 2 seed.
"Sometimes in the game of basketball the defense takes away your first option or your second option and you have to just play basketball, and that's what we did on that last play and Tahj made a big-time shot," coach Andy Enfield said afterward.
Eaddy recalled the moment from his perspective, meanwhile.
"We were really trying to get Evan [Mobley] on the alley-oop play, inside quick around the basket. We were only down 2, so were just trying to extend the game as quickly as possible, but they did a good job of guarding that. And then it was just about getting open," he said. "That wasn't a designed play where I cut to the corner like that -- it was just trying to find a way to get a catch before it was a 5-second call. We cut it pretty close right there. I'm just thankful that it went in."
To set the scene ...
The Trojans never led once in the game until that final 3-pointer. They had trailed by 11 points at halftime and were down by 8 with less than 4 minutes remaining before scoring the next 7 points, on a pair of Drew Peterson 3-pointers bookending a Chevez Goodwin free throw. That second Peterson 3, from the right wing, came in transition after a Mobley block on the other end and really delivered a jolt of momentum for USC.
Suddenly, it was a 61-60 with 2:38 remaining.
UCLA (17-8, 13-6) would tack on a second-chance score from Cody Riley to make it 63-60 with 1:57 to go.
That USC would eventually win on a 3-pointer was somewhat ironic as the Trojans shooting woes from long range (4 of 16) and from the line (10 of 20) had undermined them the whole game. After that last Bruins score, Anderson missed a 3 and on the same possession Goodwin missed the front end of a one-and-one, adding to the frustration that defined most of the afternoon.
After a Bruins miss, Enfield called timeout. Mobley would end up getting blocked on a drive into the paint and also miss a 3 of his own that same sequence. UCLA then had a chance to make it a two-score game with 44 seconds left, but Jaime Jaquez missed the front of a one-and-one to keep it at 63-60 for the moment.
Enfield called his final timeout, which would prove significant later. Goodwin, who had some key contributions for the Trojans but struggled from the line as he has all season, then hit one of two free throws with 19.5 seconds left to cut it to 63-61.
USC eventually fouled UCLA guard Jules Bernard with 11.8 seconds left and he too missed the front of a one-and-one with a chance to make it a two-score game, and the Trojans started up court. Eaddy tried to drive toward the basket, but he lost his balance while colliding with UCLA's Tyger Campbell. There seemed enough contact to consider a foul call, but instead it ended up as a jump ball with possession to USC with 3.7 on the clock.
USC didn't have a timeout to huddle and talk things over, and Enfield joked about the final sequence after the game.
"It was called Hail Trojan. Instead of Hail Mary, it was called Hail Trojan -- we work on that a lot where we scramble and then ball gets kicked to Tahj in the corner behind the backboard and he shoots it over two people. We call it Hail Trojan and fortunately it worked today. At practice the other day, it didn't work so well. No, I'm just joking," he said. "We didn't have any timeouts left, so when they missed that free throw we were down 2 and we just have to play basketball. ...
"You can't script everything in the game of basketball. You have to let players play and that's our philosophy. We do call a lot of sets when we need to get the ball to appropriate people or at least try to, but with a missed free throw, coming down the defense is scrambling, we're scrambling, my thought was, 'Please, let's make a play. Let's make a play.' With no timeouts, I was like you -- I was watching -- and you just have to rely on the skills, decision-making and the shot-making of your players at that point."
On the inbounds, Anderson looked into the well-covered paint, pumping with the ball several times as the count started to approach a 5-second violation before he looked right and saw Eaddy, who had done just enough to create some separation from his defender.
"When I faked high and came down to the corner and Ethan hit me right on time, I don't know if that was because he just saw me or it was close to the 5-second call, but he did a great job of getting it to me on time right in my pocket and I was able to rise up," Eaddy said.
Eaddy, who has been USC’s most consistent offensive player all season aside from Mobley, had been just 1 of 6 on 3s to that point, but that had never factored into his thinking down the stretch.
"Not at all. I was taught at an early age that great players have a short-term memory, and I understand what I'm capable of offensively," he said. "I know how well I can shoot the ball, I know how well I can score the ball, so if shots aren't falling I understand I have to adjust, maybe try to get some easy ones, free throws, but my confidence will never waver."
Eaddy finished with 12 points on 5-of-14 shooting, Evan Mobley had 13 points, 11 rebounds and 3 blocks, Goodwin chipped in 12 points and 4 rebounds and Peterson scored 10. (Starting forward Isaiah White missed the game due to back spasms, increasing Goodwin's role).
After the game it was an obvious storyline to draw parallels to Mathews' game-winning 3 from the left wing to beat UCLA, 54-52, last March. (See the video below for a refresher)
"Me and Jonah actually had a connection before I even came to 'SC, when I was at Santa Clara," said Eaddy, who transferred to the Trojans this offseason and took over Mathews' No. 2. "So it's pretty funny for that to happen -- we both wear the same number, against UCLA, so it's just funny how things come full-circle like that. ...
"It's special, to be able to do it in a USC uniform against UCLA. Although I've only been here for a year, I understand what this tradition and what this rivalry is, so I'm just blessed to be a part of this. But we understand what we're playing for. It's March, every game matters. We're just hoping things to go in our favor in terms of seeding, tomorrow and so on for the conference, but just taking every possession, just trying to embrace every opportunity."
Indeed, unknown to anyone at the time, Mathews' 3-pointer would be the final shot of the season for the Trojans last year, as the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled their postseason just days later.
This USC team has plenty still ahead of it -- starting with watching that Oregon-Oregon State game Sunday to see who wins the Pac-12 title. The Ducks (13-4 in the conference) will play two less games due to COVID cancellations, so the league is determining the champion based on winning percentage. Oregon takes it with a win; or USC claims its first regular-season conference title since 1985 with a Ducks loss.
"Of course we'll be rooting for Oregon State, but Oregon and Oregon State have both had terrific seasons. Oregon's played three less games than us, and Oregon State is very good at home and Oregon is very good on the road so it should be a great college basketball game. Whether we come in first or second in the league, it doesn't diminish what our players have accomplished," Enfield said.
"They've had such a terrific season so far. We have a lot to play for next week in the Pac-12 tournament and the NCAA tournament, and so yes, we'll all be watching by ourselves at our own homes because you can't have watch parties with COVID. But we'll probably just take a deep breath, everybody will watch it from their own apartment as players and the staff will be with their families because you need some family time in this long season just to catch your breath. We will certainly be watching the game, though."
USC had entered this week reeling a bit with back-to-back lopsided losses -- it's first consecutive defeats of the whole season -- and three losses in four games overall.
After a 37-point win over Stanford on Wednesday and a poised comeback against the crosstown rivals on Saturday, the Trojans will now take that fresh momentum into the postseason.
This is the best winning percentage for any of Enfield's eight USC teams and it will assuredly be the third Trojans team in those eight years to reach the NCAA Tournament (although the team last year was on track to make it had there been a NCAA Tournament.)
In the glow of the moment Saturday, Enfield reflected back on the journey this season has been so far.
"We were picked sixth in the Pac-12 by the media. We had seven new players and only three returnees with limited experience, so we didn't really make any predictions. The media picked us sixth. ... To be 21-6, it's really just an amazing effort by our group of players that came together and developed a team, offensively, defensively on and off the court. So we are extremely proud of them," he said. "... Every team has their ups and downs through a long basketball season. We had a few tough games last week on the road, but we bounced back and the thing that sets this team apart is when you walk in the gym every day they come to work and there's not a lot of nonsense and they have a great spirit and a team camaraderie about them.
"So we didn't make any predictions, we didn't know we'd be 21-6, but if you would have asked us before the season would you take 21-6, 15-5 in your league and be ranked in the top 25, we would have said sign us up now -- we don't even have to play the season, just get us to the end. So we are very excited for our basketball team."
