Up and At Em! Mayo and Lewis. Images from SCplaybook.

Get ready for the madness. Thursday night’s win against Cal assured that USC clinches a solid fourth place in the Pac-10, taking a big leap towards the NCAA tournament. But it wasn’t easy. Earlier in the week Tim Floyd made the observation that Cal, #9 in the Pac-10, and USC at #4, could easily have swapped seasons. If a couple close games had tipped Cal’s way, and a couple close games slipped away from the Trojans, USC might be at #9 and Cal on its way to the tournament. And considering the back-and-forth game Thursday night, Floyd’s comments were right on the money.

–
Cal led the Trojans 37-31 at the half. Then it was a see-saw battle throughout the second, with big runs made on both sides. The Trojans looked like they were going to close on top, up by 12 in the final minutes of regulation, but the Bears fought back with a 12-2 run. With 4.8 seconds left, Patrick Christopher’s pair of clutch free-throws set the score to 78-all and took the game into overtime.

But Mayo, who started off rusty, knows more than anyone how to finish strong. Five of Mayo’s 22 points came in overtime, when the momentum swung back to the Trojans. After Cal scored the opening basket, USC went on a wild 10-point run. It was a hole Cal could not climb out of.

Mayo scored 22 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists. But the game was a major team effort with Dwight Lewis and Taj Gibson just a point behind with 21 each. Davon Jefferson had 11 points and 4 rebounds while Hackett started and had 8 points and 5 rebounds. Keith Wilkinson had another good game with 7 points and 4 rebounds.

*Stats from ESPN-U