Chimezie Metu scored 18 points, including the game-winning layup with one second to play, as Southern California outlasted Oregon 72-70 on Thursday in a crucial Pac-12 Conference showdown at the Galen Center in Los Angeles.

Oregon led 68-66 before Nick Rakocevic's free throw and a 3-pointer by Elijah Stewart pushed the Trojans on top a 70-66. Metu then missed two free throws with 31 seconds left, and the Ducks took advantage to tie the game on a put-back layup by Troy Brown with 17 seconds on the clock.

Metu then atoned for his misses at the line by making a layup off a lob pass by Jordan McLaughlin in the last second. A final desperation shot by the Ducks rimmed out.

Metu also had 10 rebounds for USC (18-9, 9-5 Pac 12). Jonah Mathews added 20 points, and McLaughlin racked up 11 points and 11 assists for the Trojans, who snapped a three-game losing streak.

MiKyle McIntosh led the Ducks with 23 points while Payton Pritchard scored 17 and Brown tallied 11 points. Oregon (17-9, 7-6) took just its second loss in the past seven games.

Oregon led by as many as seven points in the first half before the Trojans surged to a 25-24 lead on a 3-pointer by Mathews with 5:46 to play in the first half. The teams traded the lead for the rest of the half until Paul White's put-back jumper of his own missed shot with 1:56 remaining granted the Ducks a 29-28 advantage at halftime.

McIntosh (4 of 5) and Pritchard (3 of 5) paced Oregon with 10 points each in the first 20 minutes with hot shooting from the floor. Metu led the Trojans at the half with 10 points on a 4-of-5 performance from the floor.

McIntosh wound up 9 of 13, Pritchard 5 of 12 and Metu 8 of 13.

Next up for Oregon is a road game at UCLA on Saturday evening. USC hosts Oregon State on Saturday.

--Field Level Media