Cal Falls Short Against 21st-Ranked USC

Cal got pounded on the boards in a 77-65 loss to 21st-ranked USC before a crowd of 5,087 on Wednesday night at Haas Pavilion.

Cal lost both of its games against ranked opponents in the past four days after losing to No. 10 Houston 86-68 on Sunday.

Cal coach Mark Maden pointed to USC’s superiority on 50-50 balls and on the boards as the chief reassons Cal lost.

USC outrebounded Cal 53-36, including 19-14 on the offensive glass leading to 17 second-chance points for the Trojans.

“We got absolutely punked on the glass,” said Madsen, who vowed to correct the problem.

Cal again played without 6-foot-10, 240-pound center Lee Dort, who has missed all four games with an ankle injury. Cal certainly could have used him to help on the boards.

“Even with Lee out we can do much better than that,” Madsen said.

The three-point-shooting accuracy that had helped Cal win its first two games deserted the Bears on Wednesday, when Cal was just 4-for-23 from long range. Cal shot just 34.8 percent overall.

“We have to have the right players shooting the threes,” Madsen said.

USC was only 5-for-17 from distance, but the Trojans did enough down the stretch to put Cal away after the Bears had pulled within three points with eight minutes left.

Cal (2-2) was led by Sammie Yeanay, who scored 14 points, and Nojus Indrusaitis, who scored 13 points, with 11 of those points coming in the second half. Yeanay was 6-for-12 from field and 1-for-5 from distance, and Indrusaitis was 4-for-14 overall and 2-for-9 from behind the three-point line.

USC (3-0) had three players lead its offense. Alijah Arenas scored 19 points, Rodney Rice had 18, and KJ Lewis added16 points. Jacob Cofie had 13 points and 15 rebounds.

Cal reduced a nine-point halftime deficit to three points in the first 80 seconds of the second half, but USC quickly regained command and pushed its lead to 11 a 51-40 on two free throws by Rice with 13:48 to go in the second half.

The lead was still 11 points with 12:37 left before Indrusaitis scored seven straight points to cut the USC lead to four points at the 11:06 mark. An Indrusaitis three-pointer reduced the margin to three points with 8:46 left. It was still a three-point game at the eight-minute mark, but that was as close as Cal could get.

Neither team shot the ball well in the first half, which ended with USC holding a 39-30 lead.

The Trojans shot 38.9 percent from the field and was 4-for 14 on three-pointer in the first 20 minute, but Cal was worse, making 33.3 percent of its first-half shots while going 2-for-14 from long distance.

Cal jumped out to a 9-2 lead in first three minutes, the final bucket in that Bears run coming on a Sammie Yeanay breakaway dunk.

USC worked its way back and took its first lead at the 8:06 mark of the first half when Alijah Arenas converted a three-point play to give the Trojans a 21-20 lead.

Cal trailed by just two points with 2:27 left in the half, but the Trojans scored the final seven points of the half to take the nine-point lead at intermission.

Yeanay led Cal with nine first-half points, while Rodney Rice had 12 points for USC.

NOTES

—Cal signed four-star guard Gene Roebuck on Wednesday for the class of 2027.

—USC was an 8.5-point favorite over Cal, according to FanDuel.

—The last time Cal defeated a ranked opponent was a year ago, when Cal upset 18th-ranked UCLA 80-72 on November 25, 2025, at the Chase Center.

—Cal center Lee Dort, the only returning starter from last season’s Cal squad, has missed all four of the Bears’ games with an ankle injury. It’s unclear when he will return but it was not expected to sideline him long-term.

—Cal guard Michael Cooper did not start any of the Bears’ first three games, but entered Wednesday’s game as the Bears’ top scorer, averaging 19.7 points per contest. He made 15 of 24 three-point shots (6.5%) in those first three games.

—USC entered Wednesday’s game averaging 94 points over its first two games.  The Trojans beat Milwaukee 95-63 and topped Wichita State 93-86. In Sunday’s victory over Wichita State, Rodney Rice scored 32 point and Alija Arena scored 30 points.

• Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. 

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