Thursday night served as yet another frustrating moment for USC basketball, as the Trojans fell in rather heartbreaking fashion to Arizona State by a score of 59-54. The loss marked the fourth straight loss for 'SC, as it once against had difficulty breaking down a tough zone defense. New story, huh?
But even in defeat, the Trojans certainly had a chance to leave Wells Fargo Arena with a victory in hand.
With 18 seconds left, Marcus Johnson made a three pointer to cut the deficit to just one point. Subsequently, the Trojans were forced to foul on the opposite end, resulting in to made free throws from Rihards Kuksiks. In the moments following, Dwight Lewis, for reasons unknown, attempted a ten footer in the lane only to see it blocked by Arizona State center Eric Boateng. Still trailing by three, the team then watched Derek Glasser sink two free throws to seal the win with about 8 seconds left on the clock.
Kuksiks was tough for the Trojans to slow down, as he ended up scoring 16 points in the second half (24 points on the evening).
There isn't much to this in the end. USC isn't going anywhere, and Saturday will be the final game in what has been a rather long season. Their matchup with Arizona is still intriguing nonetheless, as the Trojans will look to avoid ending the season on a 5-game winning streak and salvage a .500 record in Pac-10 play.