USC's NCAA Tournament ends as Trojans battle back but come up short against Miami

Drew Peterson’s last-second, half-court heave rattled off the backboard and rim before falling to the court as USC’s season came to an end in a 68-66 loss to Miami in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Hurricanes scored the eventual winning points on two Charlie Moore free throws with three seconds remaining after the Trojans valiantly fought back to tie the game at 66.

The loss ends the season for this USC team, which tied the school record for total wins in a season but couldn’t set it on Friday afternoon. And this was a fitting game for this USC team as the Trojans played with a ton of heart but little consistency.

After a disjointed offensive start to the game for both teams, Miami went on a 16-2 run over the latter part of the first half to take a 29-16 lead with 3:05 remaining. The Hurricanes took a 31-20 lead into halftime, built largely on the back of 12 USC turnovers.

Turnovers were a major issue for USC over the final handful of games of the regular season. No performance was worse than the 23 the Trojans committed against Washington in their first game of the Pac-12 Tournament. But this one threatened that. USC finished with 18 turnovers to just three for Miami.

USC Fights Until the End

The 13-point lead Miami took in the first half was the first of two times it looked as though the Hurricanes would cruise to victory. The second in the final minutes, when Peterson missed back-to-back three-pointers (the first on a bad USC offensive possession). Miami went on a 6-0 run to take a 65-58 lead with just 44 seconds left.

But then Peterson and the Trojans went to work.

Peterson hit a three-pointer off an assist from Ethan Anderson, then teamed with Chevez Goodwin to force a turnover when Miami point guard Charlie Moore slipped out of bounds trying to turn upcourt against USC’s full-court press. The ensuing out-of-bounds play was tremendous, as Peterson got open behind a double screen from Goodwin and Isaiah Mobley to splash home another three pointer with 26 seconds remaining.

After a Miami free throw gave the Hurricanes a 2-point lead, Peterson slashed into the lane and hit a shot to tie it up with 14 seconds left.

That set the stage for Moore’s heroics, as he got the edge on Anderson and drew the foul just before Goodwin swatted his layup attempt away.

The hole USC dug for itself was immense, but clearly not insurmountable. The Trojans shot just 29.6% from the floor in the first half and then followed that over the final 20 minutes by shooting 69.6% as a team. USC finished shooting 48% from the floor, compared to 42.9% for Miami. But thanks to the 18-3 turnover disparity, the Hurricanes took six more shots from the floor and 10 more from the free-throw line (where Miami shot 76% and USC 60%).

USC’s superlatives

Peterson’s late surge gave him a team-high 17 points, to go with five rebounds and three assists.

Both Anderson and Reese Dixon-Waters deserve plenty of praise for their performances. Anderson was called off the bench to replace an ineffective Boogie Ellis and responded with four points, five rebounds, five assists and most importantly, zero turnovers.

Dixon-Waters hit five-of-six shots, including both three-point attempts, on his way to 16 points. Anderson and Dixon-Waters were two of just three Trojans to register a positive plus/minus stat for the game.

Isaiah Mobley was impressive in spurts. He finished with 11 points, but shot just three-for-11 from the floor. He did have eight assists and turned the ball over just twice. Ultimately, USC struggled initially to find success with its advantage inside. Miami’s four-guard lineup stressed USC’s length advantage at times. Miami guard Isaiah Wong found particular success getting to the bucket on his way to a game-high 22 points.

Quotable

One of the biggest plays of the game came with just over two minutes remaining and Miami leading 59-58. A scramble for the ball looked like it resulted in the ball going out of bounds off a Miami player. The official closest to the ball did not give an immediate signal in terms of possession and asked for help. No other officials were near the play, but ultimately the ball was given to the Hurricanes. USC head coach Andy Enfield was animated, to put it mildly.

“I don’t know what was in their gut or their head, but it was the wrong call,” Enfield said after the game. “It wasn’t even close.”

Enfield was pleased with the performance from Dixon-Waters. All Trojan fans should be. Enfield was asked what the redshirt freshman showed him.

“He showed me he’s ready for the big time,” Enfield said. “The spotlight was on and he played great.”