Indiana men’s basketball entered its matchup with USC as winners of three straight games, its longest win streak since the beginning of the proper Big Ten schedule. After defeating UCLA in a double overtime thriller Saturday, the Hoosiers concluded their West Coast trip with an 81-75 defeat to USC on Tuesday night inside the Galen Center in Los Angeles.
In the early minutes of the largely back-and-forth affair, both teams came out efficiently. Junior guard Nick Dorn drilled a 3-pointer on Indiana’s first possession of the game, but the Trojans knocked down their first seven field goal attempts to take a 16-10 lead five minutes in.
After the quick start, USC’s offense grinded to a halt. The Trojans missed their next 10 shot attempts over a five-minute span, and Indiana fifth-year senior guard Lamar Wilkerson took advantage. With a layup, a floater and two 3-pointers, Wilkerson accounted for 10 of Indiana’s first 15 points. A mid-range jumper from junior guard Jasai Miles capped off a 7-0 Hoosier run to take a 17-16 lead midway through the first half.
But the Trojans had a swift response. Freshman guard Alijah Arenas scored twice before graduate guard Kam Woods made a layup to put USC in front by five.
Indiana freshman forward Trent Sisley halted the run with his first 3-pointer since Jan. 10, and a pair of free throws from senior forward Reed Bailey brought the score back to a tie.
While both teams continued to score, a stretch of Hoosier fouls at the end of the half allowed the Trojans to end the opening frame on a 5-0 run entirely off free throws. After 20 minutes of action, Indiana trailed 35-30.
The Cream and Crimson struggled to contain Trojan junior center Gabe Dynes on the interior. Dynes ended the half with three offensive rebounds and three blocks, while Wilkerson led Indiana with 13 points and three longballs.
Coming out of the break, Indiana went straight to Wilkerson, who added a layup for the Hoosiers’ first points of the half. But just a minute into the final frame, USC graduate guard/forward Chad Baker-Mazara was blocked by Indiana senior forward Sam Alexis. After falling on the play, Baker-Mazara, the Trojans’ leading scorer on the season, left the game with 19:00 remaining.
As the half went on, Indiana’s offense proved ineffective. Redshirt senior forward Tucker DeVries scored his first points of the game, but Dorn couldn’t get a shot to fall. On the other end, USC continued to penetrate the Hoosiers’ defense and get to the free-throw line. Four consecutive free throws sparked an extended 16-4 Trojan run that saw their lead balloon to 14 points at the under-12 media timeout. During the run, Indiana missed seven 3-pointers.
Facing its largest deficit of the night, Indiana kickstarted its comeback effort with two technical free throws from Wilkerson. Redshirt senior guard Conor Enright joined Wilkerson in making shots from beyond the arc, and Alexis finished a lob from DeVries as the Hoosiers brought it back within single digits.
Wilkerson continued to run the offense, scoring twice more to cut the deficit to four points, but Arenas struck back with two 3-pointers to push the lead back to 10. In just his fifth game, Arenas eclipsed 20 points for the first time in his collegiate career.
After missing eight consecutive 3-point attempts, Dorn connected once more in the game’s final minutes. An and-one dunk from Bailey brought the Hoosiers back within two possessions in the final two minutes of action.
Despite a series of chances generated by a fiery full court press, sixth-year senior guard Tayton Conerway — in his return to action after missing two games with an ankle injury — missed a crucial free throw, and the Trojans put an end to Indiana’s comeback hopes with six consecutive makes at the charity stripe.
While Wilkerson scored with ease, the Hoosiers lacked the rest of their typical scoring production. Wilkerson finished with 33 points, while DeVries and Dorn combined for just 11 points. The Cream and Crimson shot 10 for 35 from beyond the arc.
After splitting their two games in Los Angeles, the Hoosiers will return home to take on Wisconsin at noon Saturday inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington.
Follow reporters Dalton James (@DaltonMJames and jamesdm@iu.edu) and Nathan Shriberg (@NShriberg and naashri@iu.edu) and columnist Kasey Watkins (@KaseyWatki8773 and kaslwatk@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s basketball season.
