Written by Caroline Deisley and Max Holm, USC blog contributors
The road woes continued for the Trojans as they fell to the California Golden Bears, 87-65, on Sunday evening. USC started off the first 10 minutes of play much better than in previous road games, hanging in there with Cal until around the eight-minute mark in the first half. The Golden Bears proceeded to go on a 18-4 run to finish the half, entering the locker room with a 14-point lead that the Trojans could not overcome. USC enters its final home-stand of the season against the Oregon schools at 19-10 overall and 8-8 in conference play.
Click here for a full recap and stats from the USC's loss to Cal.
USC decided to start big against Cal, with freshman Chimezie Metu joining Nikola Jovanovic and Bennie Boatwright in the starting lineup. Jovanovic was one of the few bright spots in the Trojans' performance scoring 14 points in the first half alone. The junior forward finished with 21 points and nine boards to lead USC. The Trojans had another cold shooting night (40 percent), but they were going up against the No. 1 ranked field goal defense team in the Pac-12 (38.9 percent). USC also learned firsthand just how hard it is to go into Haas Pavilion and leave with a W as Cal finished the season undefeated at home.
The Trojans now return home to the Galen Center after losing five of the last six with the final two games of the regular season on the horizon. With NCAA tournament hopes on the line, USC will host Oregon State on Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. and Oregon on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. This final weekend is important for the Trojans as they look to finish the regular season with momentum heading into the Pac-12 tournament.
Check out all the highlights from Sunday's loss to Cal...
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