USC basketball: Oregon leads Trojans at halftime, 25-19

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All season long, USC has struggled on Saturdays, its players, all seven who actually play, looking dead-legged and listless after usually playing a game two nights before.

That seems to be the case again at the Galen Center tonight, where the Trojans trail Oregon at hafltime, 25-19.

USC’s chances of winning took a big hit -- a 6-foot-10, 250-pound hit, to be exact -- when senior forward Alex Stepheson picked up two quick fouls, forcing him to the bench for the rest of the half.

But the Trojans kept their deficit slim behind junior forward Nikola Vucevic, who has scored a game-high 10 points on five-of-12 shooting and also has eight rebounds.

Still, USC is struggling big-time on offense, having shot only eight for 31 (25.8%) from the field against Oregon’s zone defense. In fact, aside from Vucevic, the rest of USC’s lineup has shot only three for 19.

Oregon hasn’t shot much better, shooting nine for 27 (33.3%).

Senior forward Joevan Catron, who missed the Ducks’ home win against USC last month because of injury, has seven points to lead Oregon.

-- Baxter Holmes