Tahj Eaddy's corner 3-pointer with 1.4 seconds remaining lifted Southern California to a 64-63 defeat of UCLA in the Pac-12 regular-season finale for both teams on Saturday at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles.
USC (21-6, 15-5 Pac-12) concludes its 2020-21 regular season in almost identical fashion to the 2019-20 campaign. A year ago, Jonah Mathews hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer in what ended up being the Trojans' final game before the COVID-19 pandemic ended the season.
On Saturday, Eaddy connected for the final three of his 12 points on a baseline out-of-bounds play to sink the Bruins and keep the Trojans' hopes alive for a share of the Pac-12 title.
An Oregon loss at Oregon State on Sunday would give USC a stake to its first regular-season league crown since 1985.
It was an uphill climb for USC, which fell behind by 12 points early and went into intermission down by 11. The Trojans were 0 of 6 from 3-point range in the first half and finished 4 of 16 from overall.
Ethan Anderson and Evan Mobley both missed looks from beyond the arc in the final two minutes that would have forced a tie.
UCLA (17-8, 13-6) had chances to extend the lead it held for more than 37 minutes on Saturday, but the Bruins missed the front end of two one-and-one opportunities down the stretch.
Missed foul shots vexed both teams. UCLA finished 6-of-11 from the line, while USC went 10-of-20. The 50 percent shooting complicated the Trojans' comeback effort.
A 32-26 rebounding advantage aided USC, as did holding UCLA to just two points in the final 5:05.
Mobley, who scored a game-high 13 points, did his part defensively with three blocked shots. He also grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds, all on the defensive end.
Chevez Goodwin added 12 points for USC, and Drew Peterson -- who hit a pair of critical 3-pointers in the final four minutes -- scored 10 points.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. led UCLA with 12 points. Jules Bernard and Dave Singleton both added 11 points, and Cody Riley scored 10 points.
--Field Level Media
Southern California | UCLA | |
Evan Mobley 13 | Scoring | Jaime Jaquez Jr. 12 |
Ethan Anderson 4 | Assists | Tyger Campbell 4 |
Evan Mobley 11 | Rebounds | Jules Bernard 7 |
Chevez Goodwin 4 | Free Throws Made | Cody Riley 2 |
Tahj Eaddy 2 | Steals | Tyger Campbell 2 |
Evan Mobley 3 | Blocks | Cody Riley 3 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Southern California | 64 | 47.2 | 4-16 | 10-20 | 9 | 28 | 5 | 5 | 10 |
UCLA | 63 | 51.0 | 5-9 | 6-11 | 12 | 24 | 5 | 3 | 10 |