CSUN’s Marcus Adams Jr., right, handles the ball while under pressure from USC’s Saint Thomas during the first half on Wednesday night at the Galen Center. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
USC’s Desmond Claude (1) goes up for a layup as CSUN’s Festus Ndumanya, right, defends during the first half on Wednesday night at the Galen Center. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
The USC bench reacts to a 3-point shot by USC’s Matt Knowling (3) during the first half of their game against CSUN on Wednesday night at the Galen Center. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
USC’s Desmond Claude, right, loses the ball while under pressure from CSUN’s Keonte Jones (7) and PJ Fuller II, bottom, during the first half on Wednesday night at the Galen Center. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
USC’s Saint Thomas, right, and CSUN’s Keonte Jones force a jump ball call as they battle for the ball during the first half on Wednesday night at the Galen Center. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
USC’s Wesley Yates III, left, tips the ball out of bounds as CSUN’s PJ Fuller II tries to maintain possession during the first half on Wednesday night at the Galen Center. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
USC’s Josh Cohen, right, is fouled by CSUN’s Keonte Jones during the first half on Wednesday night at the Galen Center. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
USC’s Rashaun Agee, left, is fouled by CSUN’s Scotty Washington (12) during the first half on Wednesday night at the Galen Center. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
USC’s Chibuzo Agbo reacts to a foul call during the first half of their game against CSUN on Wednesday night at the Galen Center. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
CSUN’s Jordan Brinson, left, and USC’s Chibuzo Agbo pursue a rebound during the first half on Wednesday night at the Galen Center. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
USC’s Josh Cohen, right, is fouled by CSUN’s Jordan Brinson during the first half on Wednesday night at the Galen Center. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
USC’s Chibuzo Agbo drives as CSUN’s Keonte Jones, left, defends during the first half on Wednesday night at the Galen Center. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
CSUN’s Scotty Washington looks to pass the ball as USC’s Desmond Claude,, right, defends during the first half on Wednesday night at the Galen Center. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
USC’s Josh Cohen, center, looks to shoot as CSUN’s Marcus Adams Jr., left, and PJ Fuller II, right, defend during the first half on Wednesday night at the Galen Center. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
USC’s Rashaun Agee (12) and CSUN’s Grady Lewis, far left, and Jalen Barbee (3) pursue a loose ball during the second half on Wednesday night at the Galen Center. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
USC’s Rashaun Agee gets double-teamed by CSUN’s Festus Ndumanya (6) and Marcus Adams Jr., right, during the second half on Wednesday night at the Galen Center. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
USC’s Saint Thomas, right, and CSUN’s Marcus Adams Jr., reach for a loose ball during the second half on Wednesday night at the Galen Center. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
USC head coach Eric Musselman watches from the sideline during their game against CSUN on Wednesday night at the Galen Center. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
CSUN’s PJ Fuller II, left, and USC’s Chibuzo Agbo go to the floor to corral a rebound during the second half on Wednesday night at the Galen Center. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
CSUN’s PJ Fuller II, left, and USC’s Chibuzo Agbo, right, go to the floor to pursue a rebound during the second half on Wednesday night at the Galen Center. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
CSUN’s Keonte Jones looks to shoot as USC’s Rashaun Agee defends during the second half on Wednesday night at the Galen Center. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
CSUN’s Marcus Adams Jr. (8) gets to the basket for a layup as USC’s Chibuzo Agbo (7) defends during the second half on Wednesday night at the Galen Center. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
CSUN’s Keonte Jones passes the ball out as USC’s Chibuzo Agbo, left, and Saint Thomas, right, defend during the second half on Wednesday night at the Galen Center. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
CSUN’s Scotty Washington (12) loses the ball to USC’s Saint Thomas, right, and Desmond Claude (1) during the second half on Wednesday night at the Galen Center. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
CSUN’s Keonte Jones, right, gets double-teamed by USC’s Rashaun Agee (12) and Matt Knowling, center, during the second half on Wednesday night at the Galen Center. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
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CSUN’s Marcus Adams Jr., right, handles the ball while under pressure from USC’s Saint Thomas during the first half on Wednesday night at the Galen Center. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
LOS ANGELES — They wanted to play like sewer rats, yes. They repeated it, in front of cameras, and beyond. But this USC basketball team, Eric Musselman came to realize, did not quite know what that meant. Not yet.
For their first few games, Musselman reflected, his Trojans didn’t grasp his concept of pace. They needed to, on Wednesday night, or they would get run off the court. Plucky CSUN walked into Galen Center, a local program on the rise under second-year head coach Andy Newman. Newman’s teams run. Musselman knew this.
So USC did not slow. The Trojans were built for this, too, two rosters without a single player over 6-foot-10 meeting for a local track meet on the hardwood. And a year after upstart CSUN shocked UCLA at Pauley Pavilion, fellow local power USC ran the Matadors out of the Galen Center in a 90-69 win.
“We felt, hey, that’s their strength,” Musselman said after the win. “Let’s play our strength, too. They like an up-tempo game, so let’s run with them, and see what happens.”
What happened, in fact, was the best end-to-end offensive performance of Musselman’s early tenure at USC, as the Trojans (8-4 overall, 1-1 Big Ten) continue to resoundingly right the ship on a three-game win-streak. CSUN collapsed repeatedly on USC drives, and the Trojans’ group of transfers continued to show much-improved cohesion, whipping the ball around and finishing 12 for 19 from 3-point range.
“They were giving us some open threes,” guard Chibuzo Agbo Jr. said. “And a lot of these guys have been in the gym every single day, just getting a lot of shots up. And I mean, it’s starting to show.”
Agbo, a Boise State transfer known for his love of shooting and dislike of – well, not shooting – had 23 points, including five 3-pointers. Point guard Desmond Claude continued a stretch of near-flawless play, scoring 21 points on just 11 shots and dishing nine assists. And fiery forward Saint Thomas got going in the second half, finishing with 16 points and a trio of 3-pointers that induced roars. From himself.
Suddenly, after a three-game losing streak during which USC could hardly string together a cohesive offensive attack, Musselman’s fast-paced small-ball vision is coming to life in front of the home crowd.
“The game is slowing down for a lot of us, and we’re playing well,” Claude said. “And yeah, we’re just trusting Coach, and going out, and playing free.”
Despite a barrage in the opening minutes and a buzzer-beating step-back 3-pointer from Kevin Patton Jr. at the first-half horn, USC entered the break up just one against CSUN in a back-and-forth first half. The Trojans had “reverted back” to who they were to start the season, Musselman acknowledged afterward. Getting out-hustled. Getting out-reacted. CSUN’s Keonte Jones had feasted with 12 first-half points and six rebounds, and USC’s defense occasionally looked a step slow in transition.
So Musselman gave his players a sermon at halftime: they did not want to take a step back.
They got the memo. After CSUN’s PJ Fuller II buried four first-half 3-pointers, he didn’t hit any in the second half. Jones had just five second-half points. And USC held CSUN’s leading scorer, Marcus Adams Jr., to just four points on 2-of-9 shooting.
And in a lightning-quick, physical game, bodies hitting the deck for the basketball on one possession as if they were football linemen diving for a fumble, an emotional Galen Center became Thomas’ Coliseum in the second half. It started with a Thomas 3-pointer with 13:07 left, extending USC’s lead to 57-49. It continued on the other end, Thomas helping force a CSUN travel. The fury in his lungs uncorked, spewing guttural roars at his own home bench, the momentum only building for what would come next: another catch-and-shoot 3-pointer.
He backpedaled downcourt, pounding his chest as if trying to break it, yelling in the face of a CSUN ball handler. It put USC up, realistically, just 11. But it was an emotional dagger, nonetheless.
A subsequent USC run pushed the lead to 20, a couple more Agbo 3-pointers tucked the game away, and USC walked away with its third straight win.
