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LOS ANGELES — In a matchup featuring several high-profile freshmen, USC’s basketball team was unable to prevail against Vanderbilt on Sunday night, suffering an 82-78 loss at Galen Center.
The Commodores’ talented trio — guard Darius Garland and forwards Simisola Shittu and Aaron Nesmith — combined for more than half of their points, including a game-high 21 points from Garland, as the Trojans suffered their first defeat of the season.
For most of the final six minutes, the Trojans were without their talented freshman playmaker, Kevin Porter Jr., a hyped 6-foot-6 guard who came off the bench to provide a burst of scoring.
Porter, who scored 15 points in his college debut five days earlier, tallied 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting against Vanderbilt and dished out a pair of assists. He scored off the dribble, drove to the basket and hit tough step-back shots. But he fouled out with 5:47 left when he was whistled for reaching.
Coach Andy Enfield chalked up the fouls to inexperience.
“He just has to learn to play with his feet and be in a stance,” Enfield said. “If you’re late to the play, sometimes you get called for a reaching foul. You need to get there early and get in good position.”
Even without Porter on the floor, USC (1-1) positioned itself for a potential victory with 2:45 left when Jordan Usher hit Jonah Mathews on a back-door bounce pass, allowing Mathews to finish with a layup, moving the Trojans ahead 69-67 and energizing the home crowd of 3,804.
But USC soon lost its two-point lead and scored only three baskets in the final minutes. Vanderbilt also made 11 of 12 free-throw attempts.
Garland, the Commodores’ point guard, was also difficult to slow down in the final minutes. In anticipation of the talented freshmen, the arena had several rows filled with NBA scouts.
With the setback, the Trojans missed out on a quality win to bolster a potential NCAA Tournament résumé. Vanderbilt is considered a possible tournament team due to its class of freshmen. When the Trojans were snubbed from the 68-team field last season, they lacked sufficient quality non-conference wins.
Instead, Vanderbilt players celebrated at the Galen Center, chest bumping at center court following the final whistle.
“We’re just trying to compete game by game and get healthy and develop as a team,” Enfield said. “We’re not even thinking about March.”
With Porter limited to 23 minutes because of foul trouble, the Trojans were led by upperclassmen, such as junior forward Nick Rakocevic, who scored a team-high 19 points and grabbed 18 rebounds. Junior point guard Derryck Thornton added 17 points.
The Trojans shot below 40 percent from the field and made only four of their 19 shot attempts from 3-point range.
Thornton and Usher also fouled out, limiting USC’s available players down the stretch, and making Porter’s absence fell all the more.
“It’s one thing if Kevin Porter fouls out,” Enfield said. “It’s another thing if you look down the bench and your other better offensive players are out with injuries. It’s extremely challenging for us. Our rotation was short tonight. Guys played too many minutes. They were getting tired, but they played hard.”
The Trojans remained without senior forward Bennie Boatwright, their leading returning scorer, as he recovers from knee surgery, and were also without sophomore Chuck O’Bannon Jr., who fractured a finger in practice Friday and could be sidelined for several weeks.
If the Trojans’ rotation is to receive it boost, it may come Wednesday when they host Stetson. Freshman point guard Elijah Weaver may make his debut. Weaver has been recovering from ankle surgery, but is ahead of schedule and has been practicing.
After trailing 42-36 at halftime, the Trojans opened the second half on an 11-3 run, turning the game into a back-and-forth contest.
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