USC Men’s Basketball Drops First Game Against Crosstown Rival UCLA

Tuesday, February 24

Los Angeles, Calif.

8 p.m.

USC

18-10,7-10Big Ten

UCLA

19-9,11-6Big Ten

Southern California

UCLA

USC Men’s Basketball Drops First Game Against Crosstown Rival UCLA

February 25, 2026 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Highlights Postgame Press Conference

Chad Baker-Mazara led USC with 25 points in the 81-62 loss.

LOS ANGELES — Facing off in the first Crosstown Rivalry series game of the season, USC Men's Basketball (18-10, 7-10 Big Ten) fell 81-62 to UCLA (19-9, 11-6 Big Ten) in Pauley Pavilion on Tuesday, Feb. 24.

Despite getting out to an early lead and making five of their first six three-pointers, the Trojans' turnovers and defensive breakdowns allowed UCLA to take over the game. From the get-go, USC effectively kept UCLA off the offensive glass, outrebounding the Bruins 41-31 while giving up just eight offensive rebounds. However, USC committed 14 turnovers — 10 of which came in the first half — to UCLA's five.

The Bruins also outshot the Trojans by connecting on 49.2% of their field goals, compared to USC's 35.0% clip. This was in large part due to the efforts of Donovan Dent, who erupted for 30 points on 10-for-16 shooting to lead all scorers.

After starting the night making his first four three-point attempts, Chad Baker-Mazara led USC with 25 points on 8-for-16 shooting to go with a team-high eight rebounds. Alijah Arenas was the only other Trojan in double figures with 10 points, most of which came in the second half. Jacob Cofie led USC with four assists and added five rebounds and two blocks.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Sparked by a flurry of threes from Chad Baker-Mazara, the Trojans hung with the Bruins in the opening 12 minutes that saw neither team lead by more than four points. While the deliberate tempo favored UCLA, USC crashed the boards and limited UCLA to taking one shot per possession as the Trojans kept the game close.

USC took its first four-point lead with 14:15 to play when Baker-Mazara hit back-to-back threes to make the score 13-9. Baker-Mazara started the game 4-for-4 from beyond the arc, then Terrance Williams II's three-pointer kick-started a 5-0 run that made it a 21-17 ballgame with just under nine minutes to play.

However, the Bruins quickly took control of the game with a 10-0 run that put the Trojans behind for the rest of the way. USC committed six turnovers in the last six minutes and went nearly three-and-a-half minutes without a field goal until Gabe Dynes contributed a dunk with 11 seconds left in the half. The momentum gained from that dunk dissipated quickly as a buzzer-beater from the Bruins caused the Trojans to be down by nine at the end of the first half.

Trailing 38-29 to begin the second half, USC scored on its first two possessions to pull within five points before UCLA erased that progress with a 6-0 run. The Trojans struggled to defend the Bruins, who shot 58.1% from the field in the second half.

A Kam Woods three brought the Trojans within six, 44-38, with 14:29 to play, but the Bruins' offense found another gear. UCLA would go 9-for-10 from the field over the next seven minutes to extend its lead to 13 points while USC struggled to find continuity on offense outside of Arenas and Baker-Mazara.

With less than six minutes to play, USC pulled within single-digits of UCLA thanks to a Baker-Mazara jumper that made the score 68-59. However, the Bruins would go on to wrap up the game on a 13-3 run to close the game and hand USC an 81-62 loss.

NOTABLES

Chad Baker-Mazara scored 12 points in the first 12 minutes, earning double-figures in the first half for the 12th time this season. By the end of the game, he tallied 25 points. This is also Baker-Mazara's 11th game this season with at least 20 points. He also tied a season-high five three-pointers.
Along with his offensive performance, Baker-Mazara also led the team on defense with a team-high eight rebounds and two blocks.
Alijah Arenas was the only other Trojan to score double-digit points. He ended his night in Westwood with 10.
Jacob Cofie dished out the ball, leading the team in assists with four. He also registered at least one block in all but four games this season.
USC outrebounded UCLA 41 to 31 and outscored them in second-chance opportunities 15 to 4.
Tonight's starting lineup featured Alijah Arenas, Kam Woods, Ezra Ausar, Chad Baker-Mazara and Jacob Cofie. This lineup is now (3-2) this season.
USC is now 116-150 against UCLA and Coach Musselman is now 0-3 against the Bruins.

QUOTABLES
Coach Eric Musselman on finishing out the season…
"We have to figure out a way to win a game before we even worry about anything else. We have three opportunities left, and then we have the Big Ten Tournament."

Coach Eric Musselman on the team's shooting…
"The lack of shooting is really hurting us. I haven't really talked about it in a long time, but not having Rodney Rice's shooting is killing us. It kills our spacing; it kills all the help to the ball."

UP NEXT
The Trojans will be back in the Galen Center for a Saturday matinee against the No. 12 Nebraska Cornhuskers. Tip-off will be at 1 p.m. PT on the Big Ten Network. Fans can also listen to all of the action on ESPN LA 710.