National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Southern California 78, Nebraska 73
When: 9:00 PM ET, Wednesday, January 22, 2025
Where: Pinnacle Bank Arena, Lincoln, Nebraska
Officials: # Earl Walton, # Jeffrey Anderson, # D.J. Carstensen
Attendance: 14492

Desmond Claude scored 21 points and Wesley Yates III added 17 as Southern California continued to look comfortable on the road on Wednesday, earning a 78-73 victory over Nebraska in Lincoln.

Rashaun Agee scored 14 points off the bench and Nebraska native Saint Thomas added 11 for the Trojans (12-7, 4-4 Big Ten), who improved to 3-1 in conference road games in their first season in the big Ten.

Agee went 4 of 6 from 3-point range after entering the game with six made baskets from long range on the season.

Juwan Gary scored 16 of his career-high 27 points in the first half and Brice Williams added 17 for Nebraska (12-7, 2-6), which lost its fifth consecutive game.

Connor Essegian had 15 for the Cornhuskers, who lost their second consecutive home game following the end of their 20-game winning streak on their own floor at the hands of Rutgers last Thursday.

In a tie game, Claude made a 3-pointer to give USC a 72-69 lead with 45 seconds remaining. An Essegian layup got the Cornhuskers within a point with 18 seconds left before Claude made a pair of free throws for a 74-71 advantage with 17 seconds left.

Berke Buyuktuncel scored inside to get Nebraska within 74-73 with 7.4 seconds left.

Yates made a pair of free throws with 6.3 seconds on the clock to put the Trojans up 76-73 before the Cornhuskers turned the ball over with 2.4 seconds left and Yates added two more free throws with 1.7 seconds left.

Over a tight second half, USC used a 6-0 run to pull ahead 62-57 with 4:53 remaining. A 7-2 run by Nebraska, capped by a three-point play by Williams, tied the score 64-64 with 3:24 left.

In the first meeting between the programs since 2012, USC held a 12-6 lead six minutes into the game before Nebraska led 24-18 with 8:01 remaining before halftime.

The Cornhuskers led 33-31 at the break after making half of their 28 shots. The Trojans were 0 of 9 from 3-point range while shooting 45.2 percent overall in the first half.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Southern California   Nebraska
Desmond Claude 21 Scoring Juwan Gary 27
Desmond Claude 6 Assists Rollie Worster 6
Chibuzo Agbo 9 Rebounds Rollie Worster 6
Wesley Yates III 9 Free Throws Made Juwan Gary 5
Wesley Yates III 4 Steals Sam Hoiberg 2
Saint Thomas 1 Blocks Berke Buyuktuncel 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Southern California 78 44.3 6-21 18-22 12 30 1 8 9
Nebraska 73 49.1 5-24 14-17 12 29 4 6 11