Bronny James' 15 points can't save USC in loss to Oregon State

Bronny James’ season-high 15 points can’t save USC from another loss

USC guard Bronny James drives against Oregon State forward Michael Rataj.

By GARY HOROWITZ

Associated Press

Dec. 30, 2023 Updated 10:40 PM PT

CORVALLIS, Ore. — Tyler Bilodeau scored a career-high 27 points and Jordan Pope added 20 to lead host Oregon State to an 86-70 victory Saturday night over USC.

Oregon State (9-4, 1-1 Pac-12) scored the first 11 points of the second half, culminated by Pope’s three-pointer to extend the lead to 50-30 with 15:13 remaining.

USC (6-7, 0-2 Pac-12) responded with a 9-0 run, but the Beavers quickly regained control and maintained a double-digit lead the remainder of the game.

After squandering a halftime lead in Thursday’s loss to UCLA, the Beavers were determined not to let that happen again.

“We wanted to make sure we kept our foot on the gas,” Pope said. “We wanted to come out and win the first four minutes of the second half and continue on from there.”

KC Ibekwe’s three-point play gave Oregon State its largest lead at 64-41 midway through the second half.

Bronny James was one of the few bright spots for USC with a season-high 15 points. Playing in his fifth game since making his collegiate debut Dec. 6, James made an immediate impact.

The freshman guard entered the game at 12:17 of the first half and within seconds came up with a steal at midcourt that he converted into a three-point play.

James had another steal late in the first half, and dribbled the length of the court for a dunk.

James, who is the oldest son of LeBron James, was six of 11 from the field in a season-high 20 minutes, made two three-pointers, and had two assists and one steal. He continues to play under a minutes restriction since suffering a cardiac arrest during practice July 24.

“Bronny gave us great energy off the bench,” USC coach Andy Enfield said. “He was aggressive, he was confident and made some nice plays.”

Enfield added that he’s comfortable playing James more minutes “as long as he can keep that energy up. I thought he did a great job tonight.”

James was not made available to the media after the game.

Boogie Ellis, who scored 20 points to lead the Trojans, also was encouraged by James’ performance.

“To see what he’s been through and to come back and play like this it shows how great he is,” Ellis said. ”

OSU led 39-30 at the break behind 11 points from Bilodeau and 10 from Pope.

Both teams committed 14 turnovers in a sloppy first half. Isaiah Collier, the Trojans’ second-leading scorer, had two points and four turnovers in the opening half. He finished with seven points.

Dexter Akanno had 18 points on six-of-eight shooting and made three of three from behind the arc for the Beavers.

The Trojans have lost five of their last six games. Three straight conference home games might help them.

Up next for USC: The Trojans will host California on Wednesday.