Chad Baker-Mazara finished with game-highs of 31 points, eight rebounds, six assists and three blocked shots, and Southern California rode an 18-2 second-half run to power past host San Diego 94-81 on Tuesday.
After going into halftime deadlocked at 38, USC (9-1) fell behind 48-46 at the 15:52 mark of the second half. The Trojans responded by scoring the next 13 points.
Once San Diego (3-6) ended its three-minute scoring drought on a Gavin Ripp layup, USC answered quickly to continue the run with a Baker-Mazara 3-pointer. His attempt from the left wing banked hard off the glass and in, leaving Baker-Mazara laughing as he ran back down the court.
The basket also pushed Baker-Mazara beyond the 20-point mark, making him the first Trojan since Byron Wesley in 2013-14 to score at least 20 points in four consecutive games.
Baker-Mazara’s hot scoring stretch has helped pick up some of the slack with USC playing a fourth consecutive game sans guard Rodney Rice, who was averaging 20.3 points per game when he sustained a shoulder injury in the Nov. 25 semifinal at the Maui Invitational.
The Trojans also got a leading effort Tuesday from Ezra Ausar, who shot 10-of-12 from the floor on the way to a career-high 29 points. He also grabbed seven rebounds.
Ausar played limited minutes in the second half of USC’s home loss to Big Ten Conference counterpart Washington on Saturday, which Trojans coach Eric Musselman said after the game was a result of Ausar’s performance not warranting playing time.
Jaden Brownell added 16 points for USC, shooting 4-of-5 from 3-point range. Brownell and Baker-Mazara’s 5-of-6 carried the Trojans to a 9-of-15 night overall shooting from beyond the arc.
Dominique Ford’s 22 points led three San Diego scorers in double figures. Ty-Laur Johnson finished with 13 points, and Juanse Gorosito went for 10 points with a team-high four assists.
