The #19 USC mens’ basketball team suffered their first loss at the hands of Seton Hall, 63-61, in the Puerto Rico Tip Off. Despite the Trojans leading 48-23 at the half, the Seton Hall Pirates managed to outplay USC in the second, retaking the lead with 7:43, and then again with 1:42 left on the clock.
If you’re going to cast blame, don’t pin it on Taj “Dah-Wall” Gibson. The defensive record holder led the Trojans with 19 points, 18 rebounds, 10 offensive rebounds, 3 assists and 3 blocked shots. But he could have used some help. Dwight Lewis had 12 points, guard Donte Smith had 9 (all 3-pointers), and Leonard Washington had 8 off the bench.
But what about Daniel Hackett (36 minutes) and freshman phenom DeMar DeRozan (20 minutes)? 4 pts and 3 pts respectively… To his credit, Hackett led the team in assists with 8, but was 0-7 from the field, including the game losing 3-point miss. DeRozan was 1-4 from the field with 3 rebounds.
