No. 24 USC gives up 18-point lead, losing to

Over the course of USC’s undefeated start, with its star freshman still out, its main scorer nursing an ailing shoulder and one of its best defenders down because of an injured hip, coach Eric Musselman still managed to make the best of his ravaged roster.

No. 24 USC had gained eight straight, sweeping its nonconference slate, including the Maui Invitational. It then gained its Big Ten opener at Oregon. In spite of all they’d misplaced, the Trojans hadn’t just remained intact — they seemed as strong, through the season’s first month, as they’d to date under Musselman. It felt like the type of start succesful of rewriting expectations.

Then got here the second half of USC’s Big Ten home opener Saturday at Galen Center, when it all unraveled in a beautiful 84-76 collapse to Washington.

“We have to play a lot better,” Musselman said. “When you’re down three people as talented as our three guys, you’ve gotta step up and play. That’s what we have to do.”

That the defeat got here at the arms of former Trojans level guard Desmond Claude only made it harder to swallow. It wasn’t even seven months in the past that Claude, the Trojans’ main scorer last season, left USC scrambling by leaving on the ultimate day of the switch portal window. Now he was sporting purple, reminding Musselman and Co. of what might need been.

It was Claude who got here alive in the ultimate minutes, giving the Huskies just the catalyst they needed to catch up to USC, which led for all but six minutes. In fact the Trojans had an 11-point lead with less than eight minutes remaining.

Claude almost closed that hole himself, scoring 18 of his 22 factors in an extraordinary second-half efficiency. With less than 5 minutes remaining, Claude crossed up USC ahead Ezra Ausar and drove to the ring, dropping a floater off the high glass to tie the rating at 68.

It was a dizzying, disheartening fall from there for the Trojans. Washington freshman Hannes Steinbach (24 factors) hit a three-pointer on the Huskies’ next possession. Claude adopted with one of his own. Suddenly the Trojans have been down two possessions in a sport they led by 18 at halftime.

How the sport reached that level was an indictment of USC’s second-half effort, which seemed nothing like its first-half efficiency. USC seemed primed to run away with the sport after sixth-year senior Chad Baker-Mazara poured in 14 factors forward of the break. But nothing went proper from there.

“We just got too comfortable,” guard Jordan Marsh said. “Plain and simple.”

Musselman was more blunt.

“I thought, on both sides of the ball, we stunk,” he said.

That was maybe placing it properly. After taking pictures 50% from the sector in the first half, USC (8-1 total, 1-1 Big Ten) shot a paltry 25% in the second. Washington, meanwhile, shot 59% after halftime — 25% better than the opening half.

The Huskies (6-3, 1-1) also pulled down more than twice as many rebounds (25) as USC (12) and scored twice as many factors in the paint (20) as USC (10) after halftime.

“They just killed us on the glass,” Marsh said.

USC guard Jordan Marsh drives against Washington in the first half Saturday.

(Ethan Swope / Associated Press)

Marsh was USC’s only vivid spot during that stretch. With the remaining of the Trojans making just 5 photographs from the sector in the second half, Marsh poured in 10 factors.

He hit a three with less than two minutes remaining to cut the deficit to three and give USC a glimmer of hope, only for Claude to immediately extinguish it seconds later, driving for a lay-in, getting fouled and making the free throw.

It was as demoralizing a last stretch as the Trojans have skilled under Musselman, whose frustration after the collapse was clear. He pointed to the absence of level guard Rodney Rice, freshman Alijah Arenas and Amarion Dickerson — who’s anticipated to miss three to 4 months after hurting a hip against Oregon — as half of the explanation why USC couldn’t climate its second-half struggles.

But with all three possible to stay out in the approaching weeks, he also acknowledged that “nobody cares” about the hurdles they’ve to overcome.

They cleared most of them — until the second half Saturday.

“I hope this is a learning experience for our team,” Musselman said. “They’re still figuring stuff out. Some guys in that locker room are super disappointed. Others, we have to find out if they are or not.”