USC
Colorado
Players Mentioned
USC Men's Basketball Falls to No. 18 Colorado, 70-66; Onyeka Okongwu Sets Freshman Blocks Record
February 20, 2020 | Men's Basketball, Features
Okongwu's block against Lucas Siewart at the 13:43 mark in the second put him above Taj Gibson's freshman record (69) set in 2007. Okongwu, who is averaging 2.9 blocks per game, remains in range to break Gibson's single-season record (100) from 2009.
Okongwu finished the game with 21 points and four steals — both team-highs. Jonah Mathews had 17 points and Nick Rakocevic, who struggled with foul trouble late in the game, recorded 14 points and 11 rebounds.With ☝ block in the first half, @BigO21_ set the USC record for blocks in a season by a freshman! pic.twitter.com/WmEpAZtCZS
— USC Men's Basketball (@USC_Hoops) February 21, 2020
USC (19-8, 8-6 Pac-12) went on a 13-0 run to go up 14 points early in the first half but the Buffaloes (21-6, 10-4 Pac-12) eliminated the Trojans' lead with a 17-4 stretch just before halftime.
The Trojans went into intermission with a 29-26 lead.
Colorado took its first lead at the 17-minute mark and exploded to a 12-point lead midway in the second half. The Buffaloes kept the lead within multiple possessions until Jonah Mathews' 3-pointer and Okongwu's dunk on the following play brought the Trojans within a point.
McKinley Wright IV hit a floater with 1:20 left that put the Buffaloes by three. The Trojans had a chance to tie the game on a final-possession situation after Siewart missed his first bonus free-throw, but Daniel Utomi was called for a traveling violation that put the game out of reach for USC.
After shooting just 34.5% from the field in the first half, Colorado hit 60.7% of its shots in the final 20 minutes. Though USC finished at an above-average 45.9% from the field, the Trojans were just 2-for-11 from the perimeter and did not hit their first 3-pointer until 4:26 left in the game.
Wright had 15 points and seven rebounds for Colorado, while Tyler Bey finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
As of Thursday, the Buffaloes hold first place after Oregon lost to Arizona State on the same night. The Trojans remain a game back from a top-4 seed needed for a first-round bye in the Pac-12 Tournament with four regular-season matches left.
USC closes its Rocky Mountain road trip at Utah on Sunday. The Trojans then return home to host No. 24 Arizona on Thursday (White-Out/Social Media Night) and face Arizona State (Youth Basketball Night) on Feb. 29.
Click Here to purchase tickets to 2019-20 USC home games.
