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LOS ANGELES — Shaqquan Aaron led the fastbreak, drove the lane toward the basket, then flipped a pass toward Elijah Weaver, who was standing in one corner of the 3-point arc.
Left unguarded, Weaver drilled the basket.
In USC’s 90-75 victory over Cal State Bakersfield on Sunday afternoon, Weaver’s 3-pointer snapped the 68-68 tie between the teams in a surprisingly back-and-forth battle and sparked a final push.
Over the final six minutes, the Trojans out-scored the Roadrunners, 22-7, as they poured on their share of shots, including two more beyond the arc by senior forward Bennie Boatwright.
Forward Jordan Usher added a fastbreak slam dunk in the final minute that helped secure the win and prompted most fans to head toward the exits.
“When we push it and share it and the ball has energy, it’s hard to miss,” Usher said. “So when we get down the court, have fun with it, start smiling and playing like USC is supposed to play, we started to take off on the lead.”
The Trojans improved to 4-2 overall, winning consecutive games for the first time this season in front of 2,348 at Galen Center.
Before mounting their late rally, the Trojans trailed the Roadrunners by as many as seven points midway through the second half and at halftime by a score of 46-44.
Usher led the Trojans with a career-high 22 points, while four other players scored in double-figures, including 19 points from Boatwright and 18 points from Aaron.
Before a breakout performance, Usher, a frenetic 6-foot-7 sophomore, had not scored more than 14 points in a college game.
“Jordan brought a lot of energy,” Trojans coach Andy Enfield said.
“Everyone has a night,” Usher said. “Tonight was just my night. My teammates were passing to me. I was getting a lot of cuts to the rim. Easy buckets. It was just set up for me, and I did it.”
Cal State Bakersfield (3-3) hit a range of 3-pointers, making 12 of 27 attempts from beyond the arc.
The Roadrunners, who never faded despite falling behind by eight points in the first half, have been competitive in recent seasons, three years removed from reaching the NCAA tournament and reached the National Invitation Tournament semifinals two years ago.
They opened on 6-of-9 shooting in the first half, but were less effective down the stretch, held to 6-of-18 shooting in the second half by the Trojans’ perimeter defense.
“They made some tough 3s,” Enfield said, “but we also gave them some semi-contested 3s early in the game and early in the second half, where we were there, but we weren’t there. Meaning you might be there, but you’re not challenging a shot all out. They can put their normal arc on the shot, they can do their normal follow-through. They just felt comfortable from the 3-point line.
“I thought in the last six minutes, last seven minutes, we did a great job of making them uncomfortable when they were shooting. You saw some extra arc on the 3, you saw some forced shots. That led to some misses and some rebounds for us, and we were able to get out in transition.
The Trojans were limited to an eight-man rotation due to injuries and relied heavily on their seniors. Boatwright played 38 minutes, while Aaron also saw 37 minutes.
Freshman guard Kevin Porter Jr. was out with a right quad contusion, suffered during a win over Missouri State last week, as was Derryck Thornton, who sprained his ankle in practice Friday. Both players were day-to-day.
Enfield called it a “comedy of injuries,” as they have been banged-up throughout the early weeks of the season.
Weaver, a freshman who missed preseason practices and the first two games after ankle surgery, made his first career start at point guard in place of Thornton. He finished with seven points and five assists, but also four turnovers.
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