Halfway, 5-5 conf now

Fir the 1st time in 3 years we have reached the 500 level in conf play, after thurs win at home vs WaSt. The team plays tonight at Galen vs Wash, we open as 2 point favs.    Game is on Prime tic at 7pm;


"Floor General"

Jio Fontan was supposed to be sick with the flu.  He needed an IV this week, never practiced and did not even get out of bed on Tuesday.  But when the lights came on tonight, he found the energy to play 36 minutes, dished out a USC career-high 11 assists and made 8-8 from the free throw stripe.  "He played with tremendous heart and tremendous poise," said interim head coach Bob Cantu.  Byron Wesley, who scored a season-high 20 points, made it clear that Fontan is the undisputed captain of this ship.  "Jio is our floor general," he said.  "Regardless, we're looking for Jio and he is our leader."

(Photo of Fontan by Mark Terrill/AP)

Spurtability

J.T. Terrell has a tendency to get into a funk when his shot is not falling, which led to him being buried on the bench in the first half of the season.  But since Bob Cantu has taken over, he's shown faith in Terrell through good times and bad, and the streaky scorer rewarded him again tonight.  After a scoreless first half beset with foul trouble, Terrell hit an individual 12-point burst after the break to turn around a seven-point deficit and put USC in a winning position.  "That's what he does," said Cantu.  "He's a scorer."

Going Small

USC has the luxury of three seven-footers, which is rare for an NBA team let alone a college squad.  However, the Trojans have played their best ball over the last two games with a sized down front court of Eric Wise and Aaron Fuller.  "A lot of our league is somewhat undersized, so we're having the tendency of matching up to them," said Cantu.  "Going small makes it easier for us to defend a lot of their ball screens."  Like Fontan, Fuller was not expected to contribute after his sprained ankle swelled up following the UCLA game.  He gutted out a crucial 16 minutes, including the final 11 of the game, contributing 6 points (3/3 shooting) and 7 rebounds. 

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"Be Aggressive"

Those were the halftime words of Bob Cantu after USC shot only two free throws in the first 20 minutes.  The Trojans responded by shooting a whopping 20 free throws in the second half, and they made 18-22 for the game.

The Trojans are on a three-game winning streak, and moved to 6-5 in the Pac-12 just two games off the conference lead.

[Click here for the final stats and recap.]

Team Ball

[]Bob Cantu played 10 different players, eight of which scored at least four points, as the Trojans put together a complete 40-minute victory leading wire-to-wire.  The atmosphere around this team and the Galen Center has completely changed in the last month.  "We're really just playing with no leash, really no limits," said junior guard J.T. Terrell, who led USC in scoring with 18 points.  "We're holding ourselves accountable more, and holding each other accountable."  The Trojan Family saluted the team with a standing ovation as the final seconds counted down. "That was a good sight to see," said Terrell, who has become a fan favorite.  "I just really like to have fun, and I would like the fans to have fun too." 

Picking Up Jio

USC did wobble a little bit coming out of the halftime break when PG Jio Fontan picked up three fouls in a four-minute span, including his fourth, which sent the team's floor general to the pine for almost 10 game minutes.  "I was a little nervous," admitted Cantu about losing Fontan.  The head coach turned to his freshman walk-on point guard Chass Bryan who stepped up by knocking down a pair of threes and dishing out two assists.  "We knew he could do the job," said Cantu.  "Those minutes that Chass gave us were so big." 

(Photo of Cantu and Fontan by John McGillen)

Free and Easy

A month ago, USC dropped a home game to Cal because the Trojans made only 8/18 free throws, which had become a glaring weakness for this team.  In this three-game win streak, USC has knocked down 41/49 from the stripe, including 14/15 tonight.  "We've been shooting a lot more in practice," said Cantu.  "Guys are playing with confidence and they are feeling good and they are stepping up to the line and making them when it counts."  Washington made only 4/14, so the +10 for the Trojans was basically the difference in the game.

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News and Notes

Ari Stewart had his hand examined after the game and will need X-rays, according to Cantu.  The Trojans head to the Bay Area for this week to play Stanford (Thursday on ESPNU at 8 p.m.) and Cal (Sunday on FSN at 7 p.m.).

we are now 1 game out of 2nd with the recent road win at Stanford. The Cards were favored by 10, but we took charge early and led by 14 2nd half.   With a weak P12, anything can happen this year.  Sagarin had us playing the no 1 schedule.  Big game sunday night at Cal







STANFORD, Calif. (AP) - [Jio Fontan] scored 15 points and Southern California survived a late rally by Stanford to win 65-64 on Thursday night.

[Dewayne Dedmon] added 13 points and eight rebounds and [J.T. Terrell] had 12 points for the Trojans (12-13, 7-5 Pac-12), who have won four in a row. USC had lost nine of its previous 10 games at Maples Pavilion.

USC also swept the season series, having beaten Stanford 71-69 on Jan. 3 in Los Angeles.

Josh Huestis led the Cardinal (15-10, 6-6) with a career-high 22 points. Chasson Randle scored 16 points, including four 3-pointers, but missed a 3 attempt at the buzzer for Stanford.

Dwight Powell finished with 17 rebounds, the most by a Cardinal since Brook Lopez had 15 boards in 2008.

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The Response

[]The Trojans laid an egg on Sunday against UCLA, but tonight, they proved that loss was an aberration and returned to the basketball that netted them four consecutive conference wins this month.  "We were obviously disappointed with the previous game," said interim head coach Bob Cantu.  "For us to be able to come back and rebound this way is tremendous."  USC had redemption and revenge on its mind.  This same Arizona team beat the Trojans by 24 in Tucson.  How did they make a 35 point turnaround?  "When you find out let me know," said senior Eric Wise.  "It doesn't make any sense."

Rhythmic Basketball

"Tonight was our night," said Bob Cantu about his team's incredible shooting touch.  The Trojans made 33/54 (61%) from the field, 6/10 from three and 17/21 from the free throw line.  The scoring was balanced throughout the lineup with five different Trojans in double figures.  "That's how I envision the team eventually playing."  The biggest difference was a no-hesitation, fast-paced approach which led to high percentage looks and confident strokes.  "Everybody was just ready to play today, just ready to catch and shoot," said Wise.

The Run Stopper

Cantu called Arizona a Final Four caliber team, so he was not surprised that the Wildcats made several runs at the Trojans after falling behind by double-digits.  USC had the answer at every turn, and in most cases, Eric Wise delivered the clutch bucket.  "Every time they came back at us, we responded with a basket.  I thought E. Wise was tremendous," said Cantu.  Wise finished with 22 points to break out of a prolonged shooting slump.  "I had a lot of fun today," he said.  "I finally got my shots to start falling."

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Rim Protectors

Omar Oraby set the tone defensively with five blocks despite foul trouble limiting his effort to 18 minutes.  Dewayne Dedmon played only 10 minutes, but he added three blocks.  The Trojans trio of seven-footers, including James Blasczyk, challenged every shot and forced Arizona to the perimeter.  "That size and length makes the biggest difference in the world," said Cantu.

Emotional Fontan

[]Befitting his up-and-down career at USC, Jio Fontan's Senior Day was an adventure.  He was beset by foul trouble and a wrist injury which limited his action to 22 minutes.  He committed a flagrant foul and ended up fouling out.  Despite the pain in his wrist, which needs an MRI, he persevered and captained his team to a victory.  "It just represented all the struggles and all the highs that I went through and growing up as a man here," Fontan said about Senior Day.  "At the end of today, I just wanted to be able to smile and walk with a win."  He certainly was smiling as he took a victory lap around Galen Center and then choked up in the press conference.  Similarly to Matt Barkley, Fontan's greatest legacy will be leading the program out of dark times and always representing with toughness and class.

A Chance for Chass

With Fontan relegated to the bench for long stretches, Chass Bryan was pressed into 18 minutes of duty, his longest stint on the court in the Bob Cantu era.  "He did what we needed him to do," said the interim head coach about his freshman walk-on point guard.  "He facilitated the ball.  I thought he was poised."  Fontan seconded Cantu's assessment saying Bryan is "playing beyond his years."  He did not have a single turnover and made a big bucket in the final minutes.

Defending the Three

When the Trojans and Sun Devils met previously in Tempe, ASU won a shootout putting up 98 points and making nine threes.  Cantu and his staff devised a strategy to change the outcome.  "The emphasis all week was to defend the three-point line," Cantu said.  "The guys really followed the game plan."  After Jahii Carson's potential game-winning three at the buzzer went begging, the Sun Devils finished the afternoon 1/12 from behind the arc.

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Sugiyama Starts

On a team of mostly transfers, the longest tenured Trojan, walk-on Tyler Sugiyama, was rewarded with a chance to start on Senior Day.  Cantu tipped the game with five seniors on the floor in Sugiyama, Fontan, Eric Wise, Aaron Fuller and James Blasczyk.