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Rutgers returned home from its two-game West Coast trip with a 95-85 victory over USC on Sunday evening. The win came in front of a sellout crowd for the 77th consecutive game.
The game began quickly as five-star recruit Ace Bailey opened the scoring just five seconds in, finishing a lob pass from Jeremiah Williams.
Dylan Harper, another five-star freshman, led all scorers with 25 points, including 16 in the first half, as Rutgers took a 44-39 lead into the break. Harper made four of the team’s nine three-pointers and was just one assist shy of his second career double-double. He also contributed six of the team’s 10 steals.
Freshman Lathan Sommerville started the second half strong, scoring back-to-back baskets and reaching double figures for the eighth time this season. Bryce Dortch added a career-high nine points, shooting a perfect 100%, including a crucial putback slam that helped extend Rutgers’ lead to 12 with under eight minutes left.
Captain Zach Martini played a solid 11 minutes, contributing five points and five rebounds. Grad student Tyson Acuff also chipped in with 10 points.
Sophomore Jamichael Davis sealed the game, hitting six consecutive free throws and finishing with a team-high +14 plus-minus on the floor.
Rutgers controlled much of the game, leading for 26 minutes and at one point holding a 17-point advantage. The Scarlet Knights shot an impressive 56% overall and went 26-for-28 from the free-throw line, adding 37 points from their bench.
USC’s Desmond Claude had a strong performance, scoring 30 points for the Trojans. Despite his efforts, USC fell to 14-13 overall and 6-10 in conference play.
With the win, Rutgers improves to 14-14 on the season and 7-10 in the Big Ten. The Scarlet Knights will now head on the road for their next two games, starting with a matchup against No. 12 Michigan on February 27 at 9 p.m. in Ann Arbor.
“Dylan Harper dominated the basketball game,” USC head coach Eric Musselman said. “He’s going to be a lottery pick. You aren’t going to win a game when a freshman plays like that. We did as good a job as we could on Ace Bailey, but Dylan Harper did whatever he wanted to do.”
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