From ESPN.com:
Freshman O.J. Mayo bounced back from his worst game of the season to score 18 of his 32 points in the final 8 1/2 minutes, and Southern California rallied from a 13-point deficit early in the second half to beat Oregon 81-75 Thursday night.
Taj Gibson added 15 points and eight rebounds, freshman Angelo Johnson had 14 points and five assists, and Dwight Lewis scored 12 as the Trojans (16-9, 7-6 Pac-10), snapped a two-game losing streak and moved into fourth place in the conference.
Huge bounce-back game from O.J. scoring 32 points and hitting one big shot after another. I've held the opinion dating back to the middle of the non-conference season that O.J. plays far more effectively when he moves towards the basket rather than coming off screens away from the basket. Tonight, it was clear that O.J. had it in his mind that he was going to play aggressive and use his quickness to get to the basket rather than settle for fading three-pointers. What resulted was a dominant 2nd half performance and clutch play that sealed the game.
Keith Wilkinson also had a very strong game being active around the boards. He finished with 11 rebounds (3 offensive) and 2 assists in 23 minutes. Keith needs to take this game as a guiding point for the rest of the season and realize that he needs to move, rebound, and hit open jumpers to get minutes on the court. It's when Keith tries to play like a traditional big man that he looks awful and completely overwhelmed.
As for standings, SC is currently in sole possession of 4th place after Washington pulled off yet another big upset beating Arizona by 9. With Cal playing at Stanford and Arizona at Wazzu, SC has a chance to cushion themselves with a win against the hapless Beavers before heading out to the desert to play the Arizona schools. Every game is crucial, but Saturday's game is a must win.
