LOS ANGELES — Southern California’s players ran the gamut of emotions after winning their first Pac-12 game in nine tries — excitement, happiness, but mostly relief.
Garrett Jackson scored a career-high 16 points and USC led all the way in beating Utah 62-45 Saturday night to snap a nine-game losing streak.
“It was good to see everyone excited. We got to keep that feeling going,” said Jackson, who made his fourth straight start for the injury-riddled Trojans.
Maurice Jones added 16 points and Greg Allen and freshman Byron Wesley had nine points each for the Trojans (6-16, 1-8), whose skid was the school’s longest since it dropped 13 in a row during the 1989 season. Wesley added seven assists.
“It’s a little bit of everything,” coach Kevin O’Neill said of the team’s emotions. “I’m relieved. I’m glad this streak is over.”
Dijon Farr led the Utes (5-16, 2-7) with 12 points and eight rebounds despite four fouls. Chris Hines and Jason Washburn added 10 points each in the matchup of the league’s two worst teams. Kareem Storey had three points and four fouls.
“I was disappointed because we can’t pass and catch,” first-year Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak said. “We’ve got to get back to the blank slate and pull it together.”
Coming off a 27-point loss to UCLA two days ago, Utah fell to 0-11 on the road this season, although the Utes remain ahead of last-place USC in the conference standings.
Krystkowiak called Farr one of his team’s bright spots.
“There were a couple of times he took the ball to the basket. We need more than DJ to have that kind of mentality,” he said. “Some of these players are struggling offensively.”
The Trojans took control from the start, shooting 54 percent in the first half en route to a 32-14 lead at the break, their first such lead since Dec. 19 against TCU. Wesley banked in his first career 3-pointer at the buzzer, one of USC’s four makes from behind the arc in the half. For the game, the Trojans made seven 3-pointers, including three by Allen.
“Our guys did a good job digging in there,” O’Neill said. “Guys did a good job defensively forcing turnovers. We were solid enough to be able to win the game.”
The Utes committed seven of their nine first-half turnovers in the game’s opening nine minutes, when they missed six of their first seven shots. They finished the half 5 of 17 from the floor and 1 of 6 from 3-point range.
USC opened the second half on a 17-10 run, with Jackson scoring five, that extended its lead to 46-24 — the largest of the game.
The victory ended a demoralizing week for the Trojans. They lost 74-50 to Colorado on Thursday, with starting forward Dewayne Dedmon tearing the MCL in his left knee. He doesn’t need surgery, but he’s likely out for the season.
Dedmon joined fellow starters Jio Fontan and Aaron Fuller and reserves Evan Smith and Curtis Washington as scholarship players lost to season-ending injuries. USC now has six scholarship players on its active roster.
“It’s definitely been frustrating to see your teammates go down with injuries,” Jackson said. “We can’t fall apart. We have to be there for one another.”
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