LOS ANGELES — Alijah Arenas had his highly anticipated breakout game at an opportune time. He showed his true potential, scoring a team-high 29 points as the USC men’s basketball team held off Indiana, 81-75, on Tuesday night at the Galen Center.
Arenas made the first shot he attempted in just his fifth collegiate game, knocking down a 3-pointer before five minutes had ticked off the clock.
The highly touted freshman from Chatsworth High, whose season debut was delayed by an injury, had another clutch moment late in the game when Indiana was threatening to catch up with USC and had pulled within five points of tying the score. The 6-foot-6 guard drained a high-arcing 3-pointer, turning to scream in celebration the moment the ball swished through the net.
Arenas finished 9 for 23 from the field and 6 for 7 from the free-throw line to go with five rebounds. Kam Woods scored 18 points on 50% shooting and had two steals, Ezra Ausar contributed 12 points and seven rebounds and Jacob Cofie added nine points.
Roughly five minutes had elapsed before USC (17-6 overall, 6-6 Big Ten) had won enough battles around the rim to take control of the paint – an area the Trojans typically dominate due to their physical aggression.
USC scored 28 of its points in the paint by the end of the game.
Chad Baker-Mazara got to work on the perimeter and made back-to-back 3-pointers to pull USC ahead 11-8, and his teammates worked to build on that lead while defending the arc on the other side of the court.
Indiana (15-8, 6-6) typically makes 10.6 3-pointers per game, and the Hoosiers stayed true to form with 10 on Tuesday night. The Trojans turned up their efforts on perimeter defense midway through the first half and forced the Hoosiers to commit a shot clock violation.
Lamar Wilkerson hit a 3-pointer on Indiana’s next possession, however, and Jasai Miles followed with a jump shot to bring his team within a point of tying the score.
Seven-foot-5 center Gabe Dynes pulled down a defensive rebound and then blocked a shot to keep the ball in the Trojans’ hands and keep Indiana from increasing its opportunities to take a lead.
Dynes had six rebounds and three blocked shots by halftime, and although USC didn’t make a shot from the field in the last five minutes, five made free throws put the Trojans ahead 35-30 at the break.
Arenas created shots and scored from all three levels to put up 10 points in the first half and embraced contact as the second half unfolded. He pushed up against a defender to shoot a layup and made the free throw after to pull USC ahead 52-41.
Kam Woods hit two timely 3-pointers to help power USC to a 12-2 scoring run. He paused for a breath while left unguarded with 11:40 on the clock, then made a shot from the corner to bring the score to 55-41.
Baker-Mazara left the game with 19 minutes remaining due to an apparent right leg injury. He fell to the court after his layup was blocked by Sam Alexis. Ausar and Cofie were both playing with four fouls apiece and fouled out with roughly a minute left, but it didn’t disrupt the rhythm that USC had established with Arenas as the centerpiece.
Baker-Mazara came back later in the half but was seated on the bench, leaving the Trojans without their most accurate free-throw shooter.
The Hoosiers got within reach of a lead once more when a Tayton Conerway layup cut the margin to 75-73, but four made free throws and a block from Ryan Cornish in the last 24 seconds secured the win for the Trojans.
Indiana’s Wilkerson led all scorers with 33 points.
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