LAHAINA, MAUI, HAWAII — The pressure in Maui is legit.
Once again, the USC Trojans advance in the Maui Invitational by reaching the championship game after narrowly defeating Seton Hall 83-81. Ezra Ausar led the offense with a season-high 25 points and 8 rebounds in 35 minutes, along with shooting 50% from the floor.
The first half seemed like Seton Hall was setting the pace as junior guard Adam Clark had himself 10 first-half points on an impressive 83% shooting from the floor—senior guard A.J. Staton-McCray followed suit with 9 points and notched 3 rebounds in the process.
The Trojans’ scoring leader in yesterday’s game, Rodney Rice, would pick up right where he left off as he led USC on the scoring front in the first half with 13 points on 5-9 shooting from the floor and going 3-5 from beyond the arc. Rice wouldn’t be alone in the scoring as Ausar began with 10 first-half points and, most notably, had himself 7 attempts from the free throw line.
The number of free throw attempts is important, as head coach Eric Musselman said in the postgame press conference yesterday that he would like to see his guys get to the free throw line more often and create pressure near the rim. By the end of regulation, the Trojans shot 31-38 free throws.
In the second half, Ausar and Chad Baker-Mazara would take over the game, as Ausar added an additional 15 points in the second half, while Baker-Mazara notched 16 points on 4-8 shooting and went 2-4 from three-point range. Rice’s numbers would be down in the second half due to him exiting the start of the half with an apparent shoulder injury.
Still no word yet as to what the specifics of the injury are.
The Trojans would secure the win with yet again some late free throws from Jordan Marsh, and USC has punched its ticket to play in the Maui Invitational championship game. USC will play the winner of Arizona State and Washington State to determine the championship game.
