Cal Falls Short Against 21st-Ranked USC

Cal got pounded on the boards in a 77-65 loss to 21st-ranked USC before a crowd of 5,087 on Wednesday night at Haas Pavilion.

Cal lost both of its games against ranked opponents in the past four days after losing to No. 10 Houston 86-68 on Sunday.

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Cal coach Mark Maden pointed to USC’s superiority on 50-50 balls and on the boards as the chief reassons Cal lost.

USC outrebounded Cal 53-36, including 19-14 on the offensive glass leading to 17 second-chance points for the Trojans.

“We got absolutely punked on the glass,” said Madsen, who vowed to correct the problem.

Cal again played without 6-foot-10, 240-pound center Lee Dort, who has missed all four games with an ankle injury. Cal certainly could have used him to help on the boards.

“Even with Lee out we can do much better than that,” Madsen said.

The three-point-shooting accuracy that had helped Cal win its first two games deserted the Bears on Wednesday, when Cal was just 4-for-23 from long range. Cal shot just 34.8 percent overall.

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“We have to have the right players shooting the threes,” Madsen said.

USC was only 5-for-17 from distance, but the Trojans did enough down the stretch to put Cal away after the Bears had pulled within three points with eight minutes left.

Cal (2-2) was led by Sammie Yeanay, who scored 14 points, and Nojus Indrusaitis, who scored 13 points, with 11 of those points coming in the second half. Yeanay was 6-for-12 from field and 1-for-5 from distance, and Indrusaitis was 4-for-14 overall and 2-for-9 from behind the three-point line.

USC (3-0) had three players lead its offense. Alijah Arenas scored 19 points, Rodney Rice had 18, and KJ Lewis added16 points. Jacob Cofie had 13 points and 15 rebounds.

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Cal reduced a nine-point halftime deficit to three points in the first 80 seconds of the second half, but USC quickly regained command and pushed its lead to 11 a 51-40 on two free throws by Rice with 13:48 to go in the second half.

The lead was still 11 points with 12:37 left…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/cal-falls-short-against-21st-061932061.html

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Publish date : 2026-11-12 06:19:00

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