USC Men's Basketball's Bench Propels Trojans Past Maryland

Tuesday, January 13

Los Angeles, Calif.

7:30 p.m.

USC

14-3,3-3Big Ten

Maryland

7-10,0-6Big Ten

Maryland

Southern California

USC Men's Basketball's Bench Propels Trojans Past Maryland

January 14, 2026 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Highlights Press Conference

Jordan Marsh and Jerry Easter II came off the bench and scored 30 points to spark the Trojans.

LOS ANGELES — The USC Men's Basketball team (14-3, 3-3 Big Ten) used a big second half from Jordan Marsh and Jerry Easter II to pull away from the Maryland Terrapins (7-10, 0-6 Big Ten) in the Galen Center on Tuesday night.

Marsh and Easter combined to score 25 points in the second half and ignited a 13-2 run that proved to be the difference for the Trojans, who outscored Maryland 46-30 in the final 20 minutes. The duo helped the USC bench not only score a season-high 46 points, but also outscore the starters, who contributed 42.

The win was a complete game for the Trojans, who had an edge in every statistical category. Using deft post passing, the Trojans dished out 23 assists to the Terrapins' six. In the second half, the Trojans' defense locked down the Terrapins, limiting them to shooting just 38.5% from the field and 30% from three. Additionally, USC took advantage of playing a smaller Maryland roster by outrebounding the Terrapins 35-24 and scoring 44 of their 88 points in the paint, which is the most by USC in a Big Ten contest so far this season.

Individually, five Trojans finished in double-figures, led by Marsh's season-high 20 points. Ezra Ausar and Jacob Cofie had a dozen points apiece, while Gabe Dynes and Easter finished with 10.

HOW IT HAPPENED
In an up-tempo first half, USC established an interior scoring presence early, scoring its first 12 points in the paint before Jacob Cofie nailed a corner three to put USC up 15-9. Cofie was also an effective interior passer early: a short pass to Ezra Ausar under the basket led to an easy dunk that made the score 17-10 before the under-12 media timeout.

USC led by as many as seven points in the first half, but Maryland senior David Coit scored 10 straight points for the Terrapins to pull Maryland within two, 22-20. Maryland tied the score at 25 with 6:30 to go in the half.

Ausar answered the call with five-straight points for USC — including a transition dunk off a pass from Kam Woods that made the score 29-25 with 5:52 to go. However, with the score tied at 33 with 3:23 to play, Maryland went on a 4-0 run to take a lead. But in the waning moments of the half, Cofie muscled underneath for a layup, Jordan Marsh hit a corner three, then a Cofie block led to two Woods free throws to put the Trojans up 42-41 going into halftime.

Although Maryland shot 50% from the field and 41.7% from three in the first half, it committed seven turnovers that led to eight USC points.

Maryland outscored USC 11-6 before the first media timeout to take a 52-48 lead. Yet the Trojans responded with a 13-2 run sparked by Marsh and Jerry Easter II. Easter bookended the run with a pair of baskets but drew two key offensive fouls on the other end. Marsh, meanwhile, nailed two threes, the latter of which gave the Trojans a 61-54 lead. He was also an effective passer. Marsh's alley-oop pass to Dynes with 11:38 to go brought the USC bench to its feet.

Then Marsh and Easter stole the show. Marsh curled around screens and hit wide-open threes while Easter II made several acrobatic layups and mid-range jumpers down the stretch. Marsh scored the last eight points for USC, and his 20th point gave the Trojans a 19-point lead — their largest of the night — and made it an 88-69 ballgame. Maryland would score just two points in the final 61 seconds to wrap up the 88-71 USC win.

NOTABLES

Jordan Marsh shone for USC. The junior guard had a season-high 20 points — 17 of which came in the second half — while tying his season-high with four rebounds and adding four assists. He took the most shots on the team, yet went 7-for-14 from the field and 4-for-9 from three.
Jerry Easter II scored eight of his 10 points in the second half, plus he finished with four rebounds, an assist and a block.
Ezra Ausar was the first Trojan to earn double-digit points in tonight's contest. He secured 12 points, three rebounds and tied his career high with four assists.
Gabe Dynes grabbed a season-high eight rebounds to go along with 10 points on 5-for-6 shooting.
Kam Woods scored six points, his most in a Trojan uniform. He also dished out four assists.
The USC bench outscored the starters 46-42. The 46 points were a season-high for the bench.
The Trojans scored 44 of their 88 points in the paint, which is the most they've scored in a Big Ten game.
The Trojans out-rebounded the Terrapins 35-24 to remain unbeaten when winning the rebounding battle.
This is the most points USC has scored against the Terrapins in the five games these two teams have played one another.
USC is now 1-4 all-time against Maryland and Coach Musselman is now 1-1 against the Terrapins.
For the third consecutive game, USC debuted a new starting lineup. Tuesday's starting lineup featured Kam Woods, Ryan Cornish, Jacob Cofie, Ezra Ausar and Gabe Dynes, who are now 1-0 on the season.

QUOTABLES
Coach Eric Musselman on Jerry Easter II and Jordan Marsh…
"That was the most bench points that we've had all season long. Jordan Marsh had his season-high in points. Jerry played well defensively and went 5-of-6 from the field. He rebounded the ball well for his position. And then if you look at the plus-minuses, Marsh was plus 19 when he's on the floor, and Easter was plus 18. There were a lot of really positive things."

Coach Eric Musselman on the team's togetherness…
"We had 23 assists, 235 passes and only six turnovers. It's the most passes we've had all year in a game. I'm super proud of the togetherness, and it showed by the sharing of the basketball. We kept getting better as the game progressed."

Coach Eric Musselman on the team's resilience…
"If you had told us on Nov. 1 that we were going to win a Big Ten game by double digits without Alijah, Chad, Rodney Rice and Amarion, that wouldn't have even happened in our minds. But it's a resilient group. It's a group that's only worried about who's suiting up and I'm super proud of this group."

Coach Eric Musselman on Gabe Dynes' improvement…
"Gabe Dynes continues to improve. At the end of the year if he keeps getting better, he'll turn into a real factor for opposing teams and us. And he's still got more growth next year. It's been cool to see him grow as well."

Jordan Marsh on regaining his confidence…
"I feel like my confidence has grown a lot. The coaches told me I was shooting 48% from three and I didn't know that. They just kept telling me to shoot the ball, shoot the ball, shoot the ball, and that's what gave me confidence."

Jacob Cofie on playing a new position in the lineup…
"By moving to the three, Muss has so much confidence in me, so I'm guarding guards out there. I feel like at the next level I can guard multiple perimeter players, and I feel like he gave me the opportunity to show my talents. And he's confident in my three-ball. I have worked on it so much, but I feel very confident now, and I feel like I did a good job showing that today."

Jordan Marsh on the team bouncing back after the road trip…
"I feel like we were very connected tonight as a unit. We won by 17. Our previous games have been really close, so I just feel like we all just came together and have the same mindset."

UP NEXT
USC will continue this homestand as they take on the No. 5 Purdue Boilermakers on Saturday, Jan. 17, at 3 p.m. Fans can watch the action on Peacock or listen through ESPN LA 710.