The USC men let Cal State Northridge win with three points

Just two weeks ago, USC’s season seemed to be headed in a troubling direction after its third straight loss. Eric Musselman, who had just started eight games as the Trojans’ coach, said essentially the same thing at the time, wondering aloud whether USC would be able to win a single game in its new conference.

But those prospects had at least stabilized by Wednesday night, when the Trojans followed that losing streak with three straight wins, most recently a 90-69 victory over Cal State Northridge.

“We are moving in the right direction,” Musselman said.

At some point in that three-game stretch, USC was unlocked something That has since catapulted his offense to new levels. The Trojans won each of those three games by 20 or more points.

“I would say we’re figuring out how to play with each other,” point guard Desmond Claude said. “It’s starting to click.”

After the Trojans shot an outstanding 57% from the field in wins over Washington and Montana State, USC’s newfound firepower was on display Wednesday, especially from beyond the three-point line.

The Trojans shot a blistering 63% from three-point range — and that was after missing two three-pointers late, well after the game was still underway. Guard Chibuzo Agbo fueled that effort with his best game of the season, scoring five of seven from distance. He finished the season with a season-high 23 points.

In this regard, Claude also showed another strong performance, scoring 21 points and adding nine assists, the highest record of the season. It was Claude’s fourth straight game with 19 or more points as he has emerged as the Trojans’ most consistent offensive threat.

“Desmond was phenomenal,” Musselman said. “(He’s) a player that people wondered if he could be a point guard. There aren’t many point guards in the country who can play a full season and have a 9-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.”

USC was still overloaded on the glass, where it has struggled all season. But otherwise it was a full performance from the Trojans, who put a lot of pressure on the defense after halftime and held Northridge to just 35% from the field in the second half. That wouldn’t be enough to keep up with USC on Wednesday.

The Trojans came off the field red hot, knocking down nine of their first 10 shots. After just a few minutes, the Trojans appeared poised to escape with a clean sweep.

But soon the shooting stopped. USC managed just three of its next 16 as Northridge blew its lead. A 10-0 stretch would eventually give the Matadors their only lead of the night.

It would take a three-pointer from Kevin Patton Jr. at the buzzer to take the lead at halftime.

That wouldn’t be a problem in the second half as USC made a three-pointer, then another, then another. The Trojans wouldn’t look back from there, outscoring Northridge 50-30 after halftime to claim their third win in a row.