The last time USC played on its home floor, more than three weeks ago, the tone of the Trojans’ season felt decidedly different. They were 12-1, ranked in the top 25. Everything seemed to be trending in the right direction.
By the time they’d returned in the new year, that picture looked far more bleak. Two blowout losses in Michigan and a narrow overtime escape from Minnesota had made clear how tenuous the Trojans’ early success had been. Then the timeline for star freshman Alijah Arenas’ return was pushed back indefinitely, another foreboding sign in a season filled with them.
USC guard Jordan Marsh drives toward the basket under pressure from Maryland guard David Coit at Galen Center Tuesday.
(Ronaldo Bolanos/Los Angeles Times)
But after some dark days away from home and in desperate need of a night to find its footing, USC came to life Tuesday on its home court in an 88-71 win over Maryland.
“We went through adversity on that road trip,” forward Jacob Cofie said. “I feel like we bounced back.”
It did so behind an explosive second half from point guard Jordan Marsh, who’d barely played during the Trojans’ previous three games. Against Maryland, Marsh single-handledly put the Terrapins away, scoring a season high 20, 17 of which came in a scorching-hot second half.
“I just trusted my shot,” Marsh said. “I just believe it’s going in every time.”
It certainly looked that way in the second half Tuesday. Marsh caught fire with Maryland still clinging close to USC, as he hit a three-pointer with just under 15 minutes remaining and the Trojans holding a 53-52 lead. The rest of the bench followed suit from there. Freshman Jerry Easter scored eight of his 10 in the second half, and Jaden Brownell added nine.
USC’s bench scored a season-high 46 in total on Tuesday night. That the win came over a team without a Big Ten win to date barely mattered in the moment, not with how closely the Trojans appeared to be tiptoeing along the brink over the last two weeks. The Trojans were also forced to play most of Tuesday without Chad Baker-Mazara, who was held out after halftime with a neck injury.
“If you would have told us in November that we were going to win a Big Ten game by double digits, without Alijah [Arenas], without Chad [Baker-Mazara], without Rodney Rice, without Amarion [Dickerson], that would not, that wouldn’t happen in our minds. But it’s a resilient group,” coach Eric Mussleman said.
They’ve had no choice this season, with unfortunate injury luck sweeping through the roster since the very start of the season. Rice had shoulder surgery on Tuesday, while Arenas, who’d been planning to come back this week, is still not ready to return, Musselman confirmed after the game.
“He’s making progress,” he continued. “We look forward to getting him back on the court whenever he’s ready and his inner circle feels he’s ready.”
Baker-Mazara’s absence for most of Tuesday came as more of a surprise. Coming off a 29-point performance in USC’s win over Minnesota, the sixth-year senior spent the first four minutes of the game having his neck and shoulders stretched out on the sideline.
USC forward Chad Baker-Mazara reacts after a missed shot by teammate Jordan Marsh during a win over Maryland at the Galen Center on Tuesday.
(Ronaldo Bolanos/Los Angeles Times)
The ongoing injuries have left Musselman to continue fiddling with his lineup in search of answers. USC opened Tuesday, for instance, with three bigs starting and one guard who wasn’t on the team a month ago.
“I would just say we’re constantly reinventing ourselves,” Musselman said.
Initially, it wasn’t clear if Tuesday’s product would pan out. Baker-Mazara played eight minutes, before burning out. The defense, with Ryan Cornish and Kam Woods in the backcourt, was struggling to get stops, as Maryland caught fire behind guard David Coit, who scored 19 before the half. Then foul trouble forced USC to go 10-deep in the game’s first 15 minutes,
It could have gone awry from there. Especially considering that Baker-Mazara never returned, spending the entire second half instead on the sideline.
Turns out, the Trojans wouldn’t need him. Not after Marsh found his stroke after halftime. Not after a season spent finding new ways to keep going, no matter what.
“Our whole team can really play,” Marsh said. “Doesn’t matter. Any night, somebody’s gonna step up for us big time.”