USC plays big without its big man

The Trojans rout UC Riverside, 56-35, in their first game without injured 7-footer Dewayne Dedmon.

RIVERSIDE ? -- USC came to UC Riverside's tiny Student Rec Center as the big-city villain. The Trojans even wore black for the occasion.

But USC refused to let Riverside play the heroic underdog role in this Inland Empire version of "Hoosiers."

The Trojans smothered the Highlanders, 56-35, in front of a sellout crowd of 2,753 Wednesday night.

USC did it without 7-footer and NBA prospect Dewayne Dedmon, who's out 4-6 weeks because of a foot injury suffered over the weekend.

"Dewayne going down was definitely another blow to the team," said freshman guard Alexis Moore, who scored 10 points.

"But ... we can't harp on that. We can't get down. If we play together, we can definitely win some games."

The Trojans shared the ball and the postgame plaudits from Coach Kevin O'Neill after their most impressive performance of the season. Riverside was just 2-5 entering Wednesday, but the circumstances were challenging.

"Tough environment, Dewayne newly injured and out for a while ... I thought a lot of guys stepped up and played good basketball," O'Neill said.

USC (4-4) has played much better basketball since scoring only 36 points in a loss to Cal Poly on Nov. 19. Since then, the Trojans have won three of four games and shot 50 percent or better in each one.

"Cal Poly was definitely a good learning experience for us," Moore said. "You can never can take an opponent lightly."

The way Wednesday's game started, it appeared USC was headed for another struggle. With the crowd roaring its approval, Riverside jumped out to a 10-2 lead.

The Trojans responded with a 14-5 run to take a lead they would not relinquish. They led by eight at the end of the first half and limited the Highlanders to 11 points in the second. UCR's 35 points were the fewest USC has allowed since a 47-37 victory over Arizona State on Jan. 2, 2010.

"Our defense was excellent after the first five minutes," O'Neill said. "It wore on them."

USC made a concerted effort to keep UCR out of the lane and executed that game plan to perfection. The Highlanders had only six points in the paint to the Trojans' 24.

Meanwhile, USC point guard Maurice Jones repeatedly penetrated to set up his teammates. He finished with a career-high seven assists.

"Sometimes we get caught watching Mo because he's so crafty," said guard Greg Allen, who had a team-high 11 points. "(But) we get wide-open shots because of it."

USC plays its fourth consecutive game away from Galen Center when it travels to Minnesota on Saturday.

NOTES

USC won despite making only one foul shot, equaling the lowest single-game total in school history. The Trojans were 1 of 5 from the line. ... Dedmon watched the game from the bench with a walking boot on his right foot. ... Sophomore forward Garrett Jackson took most of Dedmon's playing time, scoring eight points with three steals in a career-high 32 minutes.

Contact the writer: mlev@ocregister.com

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