Trojans go cold in loss

The USC Trojans basketball team entered Thursday night’s game in the Puerto Rico Tip-off fresh off securing its first 2-0 start in eight years.

The team they were playing had the services of just seven scholarship players on its roster and only one player that stood taller than 6-foot-6.

Everything seemed aligned for the Trojans to get past Seton Hall en route to a top-25 matchup with No. 13 Memphis on Friday.

For the first half, that’s exactly what happened.

Unfortunately for USC, what was supposed to translate to the second half was thrown out of the Coliseo de Puerto Rico along with their 15-point halftime lead as the Pirates shocked the Trojans, 63-61.

Leading 43-28 at the midway point, USC let the Pirates back in the game, giving up three-pointers on three consecutive possessions in the midst of a 10-0 Seton Hall run to start the half, cutting the Trojans’ lead to five.

The Trojans led by as many as eight in the second half but turned the ball over 11 times and shot just 24 percent from the field after halftime, allowing Seton Hall to get back in the game.

With USC leading by two with under two minutes remaining, Pirates’ leading scorer Jeremy Hazell tied the game with a putback dunk of a Eugene Harvey missed layup to tie the game at 59.

After freshman point guard Donte Smith missed a three on the other end, Hazell nailed a shot from long range to put the Pirates up for good. The sophomore guard led the Pirates with 17 points.

Junior forward Taj Gibson led all scorers with 19 points on eight of 13 shooting and made his presence felt on the boards, grabbing 18 rebounds, 10 of which were offensive. Seton Hall’s John Garcia matched Gibson with 18 boards of his own.

Still, playing their first game since finding out that North Carolina transfer Alex Stepheson would not be granted a waiver that would have allowed him to play this season, the Trojans outrebounded the Pirates 39-36. The 6-foot-9, 230-pound Stepheson would have provided a valuable rebounder alongside Gibson.

For the second consecutive game, the Trojans allowed an opponent back into the game after holding a double-digit lead at halftime. Against New Mexico State Tuesday, USC allowed their 10-point halftime lead to shrink to five before pulling away from the Aggies 73-60.

Junior guard Dwight Lewis was the only other Trojan in double figures, scoring 12 but shooting only four of 13. Daniel Hackett led USC with eight assists but went 0-for-7 from the field.

Freshman DeMar DeRozan recorded just three points and three rebounds in 20 minutes of play.

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