LOS ANGELES — At one point last week, the USC Trojans were in the midst of not playing their final non-conference game scheduled for Sunday against Brown University following a tragic shooting that took place at Brown’s campus, which led to the two programs mutually agreeing to cancel their matchup. Many schools were contacted by USC’s athletic department, including a few DI programs, in hopes of turning their now open Sunday slot for a game a reality, and in unlikely circumstances, the UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs, a DIII program, stepped up and agreed to take the slot and play the Trojans at the regularly scheduled time.
The first half was a slow buildup for the Trojans as the Banana Slugs were neck and neck on both ends of the court. With 9:53 left in the first half, UCSC was only down by 2, with USC holding a 17-15 lead and shooting a cold 31% (5-16) from the floor.
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As the half progressed and minutes started to wind down, the offensive production for USC would shoot up as the Trojans ended the first half on an 8-0 run for the last 3:27 minutes and a 15-3 run the last 4 minutes. USC ran back to the locker room with a 45-26 lead, with Chad Baker-Mazara leading the charge with 13 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists.
The newest addition to the USC squad, Kam Woods, who signed with the team on December 18 after averaging 14.9 points and 5.2 assists at Robert Morris in 2024, would make his USC debut and would quickly bring a new intensity to the court.
“Just bringing that dog and energy in me, that’s what the team needs,” Woods said. “Of course, we’re good, but that extra step is going to get us over the hump.”
Despite finishing his debut with a donut on the points margin, Woods contributed to the defensive end with 6 rebounds and found open Trojans for 6 assists. Head Coach Eric Musselman praised Woods’s early impact not only in game situations but also on the practice court during his limited time at USC.
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“I think he’s going to force us to run more, and I think he’s going to allow us to play in transition more than we have,” Musselman said on what Woods will surely bring to the team moving forward and how his early onset intensity will provide.
The Trojans would pick up right where they left off in the first half as USC made the first 16 of 17 field goal attempts to open up the half. USC played with a lot more fluidity and intensity, with four separate Trojans finding themselves in double digits, but no performance stood out more than that of junior center Gabe Dynes.
Dynes shot a season-high 16 points on an outstanding 8-10 from the floor, 5 rebounds, and a team-high 4 blocks. Baker-Mazara and Ezra Ausar finished their afternoon with 15 points each, and Jacob Cofie etched himself 14 points on 7-8 shooting and 7 rebounds.
“I had a huge size advantage, and I was trying to take advantage of that, but a lot of my scoring was off catches off the post from my guards where I could get it and go up,” Dynes said on how he evaluated his season-high performance.
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By the end of the shooting parade and when the smoke cleared, the USC Trojans tacked on another win towards their winning streak, which is now up to four straight, with a 102-63 final score against UCSC. Looking ahead, the Trojans find themselves in the midst of an extensive break before heading to Ann Arbor on January 2 to play the No.2 Michigan Wolverines.
