Trojans top Ducks in overtime

EUGENE, Ore. USC may have relinquished its lead at the end of regulation, but it hadn’t lost any confidence.

The Trojans scored outscored Oregon 21-12 in overtime as they held on to defeat the Ducks 95-86 on Saturday.

Daniel Hackett scored 26, O.J. Mayo had 25 points and Dwight Lewis added a career-high 24 points for USC, which lost a nine-point lead in the final 1:26 as Oregon forced overtime with a 17-8 run.

“We were pretty mad about giving up that lead,” Hackett said. “We just pulled together and refused to lose.”

The Trojans were nearly perfect in the overtime session, going 5-for-5 from the field all 3-pointers and 6-for-8 from the free-throw line as they quickly broke away from the 74-74 tie.

“It was about as difficult a set of circumstances as you can possibly overcome,” said USC coach Tim Floyd, who had two starters foul out and went into OT with multiple players suffering from legs cramps, including Mayo who needed an IV after the game. “It always helps when you make every shot.”

It was the fourth straight win for USC, while the Ducks have now lost four straight since they upset then-No. 23 Stanford two weeks ago.

Malik Hairston scored 21 to pace Oregon, which sent the game into overtime when Bryce Taylor made a layup as time expired.

Taylor finished with 16 points, while Tajuan Porter scored 17 points, Joevan Catron had 15 points and Maarty Leunen had 13 points and 11 rebounds.

“It would have been a big win for us with us being on the skid,” Catron said. “But they came out and their shots fell for them.”

It was Mayo’s first game since the NCAA ruled on Friday the superstar freshman had violated rules by accepting free tickets from Denver Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony to an NBA game. Mayo’s punishment didn’t include any missed games, but he had to contribute $460 — the total value of the two tickets to a charitable organization.

He came up big in the second half for USC. He scored 20 points after halftime and made five 3-pointers total, including a long shot that sparked a 9-0 run at the start of overtime to put the Trojans up 83-74 with three minutes left.

This time, Oregon couldn’t rally, getting no closer than three points 85-82 before Hackett drained the Trojans’ 12th 3-pointer of the game as USC ended on a 10-4 run.

“Over the last three or four weeks, we’ve been talking about being more of a team and playing together and I think tonight it really showed,” Mayo said.

The Trojans were up 66-57 with 1:26 to play when Porter went to line to take and make three free throws that started a 17-8 run. Hairston scored seven points during that stretch, while Porter scored six.

Hackett had a chance to make it a three-point game but missed one of his two free-attempts with 14.6 seconds remaining.

Porter drove the lane at the end other end but missed the game-tying layup. Oregon regained possession of the ball out of bounds under the basket with two seconds left and Kamyron Brown found Taylor cutting to the hoop for the uncontested layup as time expired sending the game into OT.

“We ran everything right,” Oregon coach Ernie Kent said of the Ducks’ rally. “We hit the right shots, got the right rebounds and they missed the right free throws.

Though Oregon had the momentum, USC was far from rattled, Floyd said.

“Our guys were great in the timeout,” Floyd said. “They huddle up and said, ‘We’re not losing. Let’s just play hard and play together,’ and that’s what they did. They never felt like they were going to get beat.”

It was an amazing finish for a game that was 25-20 at halftime in favor of USC.

The Trojans made dunks on their first three possessions to lead 6-2 two minutes into the game.

Neither team shot the ball well in the first half, particularly from the 3-point line. Southern Cal was 2-for-12 from long range, while the Ducks converted just three of their 14 attempts.

Thus, the Trojans could never pull away despite leading the entire half, while Oregon could never get closer than five points after falling behind 14-5 early on.

It was fewest points scored and allowed in the first half by Oregon this season, while USC has twice held opponents to under 20 points.

But the Trojans shot 77 percent in the second half and 100 percent in overtime and made 12-of-26 overall from the 3-point line.

Other Pac-10 men

No. 8 UCLA 85, Oregon St. 62: At CORVALLIS, Ore., Darren Collison had a career-high 33 points for the Bruins, who handed the Beavers their 10th straight loss. Kevin Love, an Oregon native who drew some criticism for leaving his home state in favor of UCLA, scored 16 points and had 21 rebounds, besting his own record for a UCLA freshman. Love’s previous best was 18 set Thursday at Oregon.

No. 20 Stanford 82, California-77: At Berkeley, Calif., the Cardinals’ 7-foot Lopez twins showed that they are arguably the Pac-10’s top tandem in the post. Brook Lopez had 23 points, four rebounds and two blocks, all in the second half after sitting 15 minutes of the first in foul trouble, and his brother Robin Lopez added nine points, 14 rebounds and four blocked shots in the win over the Golden Bears.