USC basketball: O’Neill: Gerrity “really changed the game in the second half”
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USC Coach Kevin O’Neill walked into the locker room at halftime at the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu on Monday, where his team trailed Western Michigan, 27-18 -- and he wasn’t pleased. This wasn’t the effort he wanted from his team in its first game of the inaugural Diamond Head Classic, not after they upset the No. 9 team in the country, Tennessee, on Saturday.
“We struggled early, coming off a big win, and we didn’t handle the win very well,” he said by phone from Hawaii.
But in the second half, it was point guard Mike Gerrity, the leader in Saturday’s win against Tennessee, who again carried the Trojans to victory over the Broncos, scoring 15 of his team-high 17 points in the second half to give USC its fourth straight win, 55-51.
“Mike really changed the game in the second half,” O’Neill said. “He just got more aggressive.”
USC (6-4) will play St. Mary’s (10-1) at 2 p.m. Wednesday in the second round of the eight-team tournament. The Gaels advanced with a 78-67 win over the Northeastern Huskies on Tuesday. The finals are Friday.
Gerrity said by phone that on Saturday, when he scored 12 points and had 10 assists against the Volunteers, he found more passing lanes, but that wasn’t the case against Western Michigan.
“Today, when I got a lane, it seemed like the shot was there,” said Gerrity, who finished with 17 points and three assists in just his second game for USC after becoming eligible Friday after sitting out due to NCAA transfer rules.
The game was tied at 50 with 1:50 left, but Gerrity scored USC’s next four points to give the Trojans a 54-50 lead with 21 seconds left. In all, USC outscored Western Michigan, 37-24, in the second half.
“They were packing it in and sagging off us and we were a little too passive in the first half,” Gerrity said. “In the second half, we understood if they’re going to sag, we need to knock shots down.”
Here are some notable facts and stats from USC’s win:
-- USC came into the game ranked 12th in the country in scoring defense (57.8) and continued its dominant defensive ways, holding Western Michigan to just 51 points. USC entered the game having allowed 520 points, its fewest through nine games since allowing 514 in its first nine games of the 1959-60 season.
-- The Trojans are also ranked 12th nationally in rebounding margin (9.3) but were outrebounded against the Broncos (29 to 27) for just the third time all season.
-- Forwards Alex Stepheson and Nikola Vucevic each came into the game averaging double digits in points (13.4 and 13.8) and rebounds (10.6 and 10.7). But against the Broncos, who O’Neill and Gerrity said were trying to slow the Trojans’ inside game, Stepheson and Vucevic combined for just 12 points and 14 rebounds on two-of-10 shooting from the floor.
-- And last, USC had a season-low eight turnovers. Coming into the game, USC was ranked 310th nationally out of 334 teams in turnovers per game (17.3). “We were smart with the ball and we realized they were a good team and we couldn’t afford the turnovers we’ve been having,” Gerrity said.
Check back tomorrow morning for a St. Mary’s preview.
-- Baxter Holmes