Rutgers Rough Season Ends in Bitter Loss to USC

Rutgers men's basketball season came to a thunderous end in a 97-89 double overtime loss to USC in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament on Wednesday night.

After trailing by 11-points at the half, Rutgers made a heroic comeback in the second half, and even held a four-point lead with as little as 36 seconds left in regulation thanks to a pair of Dylan Harper free throws, yet it was not enough to stymie USC.

"So disappointed for our guys who played hard. USC was very good. We were very good too in coming back. It's a sad locker room, but I am proud of these guys," Head Coach Steve Pikiell said afterward.

The Trojans tied the game at 73 in the final seconds when Desmond Claude powered through the lane, delivering a layup with nine seconds to go on a play that would force overtime.

The first overtime was a back-and-forth affair with both teams trading one-point leads for the duration of the five minute period. The Trojans took a two-point lead when Claude nailed a pair of free throws to make it 81-79 with 1:07 to go. But Rutgers would not be deterred, Harper drove through the lane and slammed it home, knotting the game back up at 81 with just 38 seconds to go in the OT.

The second overtime was not as fortunate for Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights missed eight shots in total, seven of them from downtown as USC pulled away.

Claude opened the scoring for USC with a simple layup with 4:40 to go. After a missed jumper by Harper, Rashuan Agee nailed a three-pointer to make it 86-81 with 4:03 to go. Finally, Wesley Yates III shoved in the dagger with a three of his own to extend the USC lead to eight points, 89-81.

Rutgers would never recover.

In what was likely their final game at Rutgers, Dylan Harper finished with 27 points and eight rebounds. Ace Bailey finished with 17 points in 33 minutes. He fouled out with just a few minutes left in regulation.

"I told them I love them," Pikiell said of his ball club. "If you saw the fight in that team tonight. We didn't have the kind of season, it was choppy. I take full responsibly for our season, but this was a great group of guys. Playing in this league is tough; it's a humbling league. We played as hard as you could possibly play."

Tyson Acuff and Lathan Sommerville each finished with 16 points in the defeat.

Where Rutgers lost the game was on the glass. Rutgers shot only 43 percent from the field and 20 percent from down town. USC was much more consistent in knocking down shots, hitting at 52 percent from the field, and 43 percent from beyond the arch.

Rutgers finished the season at 15-17.