That the USC basketball team ultimately ended up with yet another double-digit loss Tuesday night is more symbolic of this season than it is representative of this particular game.
Sure, the Trojans dug themselves another deep early hole, but they showed some life and resilience in climbing out of it. They rallied from down 19 at one point to even take a lead in the final minute. They held several leads in the first overtime as well.
But it was not meant to be, and perhaps the same could be said for this season.
USC went from potentially salvaging a modicum of positivity from a comeback against a WCC opponent to instead taking a 102-92 double-overtime loss on the road at Santa Clara.
It marks the fourth straight loss -- all by double figures -- for the Trojans (5-6).
But again, this one was closer than the others, for what that's worth.
It was bad early. Santa Clara (6-6) used a 20-5 run midway through the first half to assert control, going up 35-17 before soon peaking the lead at 38-19 with 3:54 left in the period.
It was a 42-31 game at halftime, and Santa Clara was up 75-60 with less than 6 minutes remaining before the Trojans surged back.
They scored the next 11 points on a layup by Jonah Mathews, a 3-pointer from Derryck Thornton, a layup by Shaqquan Aaron and four free throws from Jordan Usher to suddenly make it a four-point game.
It was later 79-71 when senior forward Bennie Boatwright worked his way to the line for one of two free throws, Usher converted a fast-break layup and free throw and Boatwright drained a 3 from the right wing to cut the deficit to 1 with 36.3 seconds to play.
USC immediately fouled Santa Clara's Josh Martin, who missed both free throws, and Mathews followed with a driving layup from the right wing to give the Trojans an 80-79 lead with 23.7 seconds remaining.
The Trojans would block Trey Wertz's layup on the other end, but Santa Clara retained possession and Josip Vrankic drew a foul on Usher with 3.5 seconds to play. He hit the first free throw and missed the second, sending the game into overtime.
From there, though, USC would have almost no luck stopping Wertz, the Broncos' crafty freshman guard.
The Trojans had leads of 85-83, 87-85 and 89-87 in overtime, but each time Wertz answered. A defensive lapse gave him an easy layup in the waning seconds to force the second overtime.
Wertz then scored 11 more points in that second extra period as Santa Clara pulled away. He finished with a game-high 28 points, scoring 23 of those after halftime. Vrankic added 22 points and Tahj Eaddy scored 21 as the Broncos shot 53.1 percent for the game.
USC shot 39 percent, led by 22 points from Usher, 20 from Mathews, 17 from Aaron and 14 points and 9 rebounds from Boatwright, who did much of his damage late. Usher matched his season high with that output and Mathews posted his second-best scoring total of the year. Ultimately, the Trojans probably needed more from Boatwright earlier in the game.
They did a better job protecting the basketball this time, winning the turnover margin 19-10, but they scouldn't find an answer for Wertz late.
And they simply can't seem to find an answer to stem their early struggles this season.
Freshman standout Kevin Porter Jr. remains out with a calf injury, which has certainly hindered the Trojans' plans. But with or without him, this team still doesn't have a notable win all season.
USC closes the non-conference schedule with home games against Southern Utah and UC Davis over the next week and a half before heading into Pac-12 play.
They'll hope to find at least some positive momentum in that time.
Sure, the Trojans dug themselves another deep early hole, but they showed some life and resilience in climbing out of it. They rallied from down 19 at one point to even take a lead in the final minute. They held several leads in the first overtime as well.
But it was not meant to be, and perhaps the same could be said for this season.
USC went from potentially salvaging a modicum of positivity from a comeback against a WCC opponent to instead taking a 102-92 double-overtime loss on the road at Santa Clara.
It marks the fourth straight loss -- all by double figures -- for the Trojans (5-6).
But again, this one was closer than the others, for what that's worth.
It was bad early. Santa Clara (6-6) used a 20-5 run midway through the first half to assert control, going up 35-17 before soon peaking the lead at 38-19 with 3:54 left in the period.
It was a 42-31 game at halftime, and Santa Clara was up 75-60 with less than 6 minutes remaining before the Trojans surged back.
They scored the next 11 points on a layup by Jonah Mathews, a 3-pointer from Derryck Thornton, a layup by Shaqquan Aaron and four free throws from Jordan Usher to suddenly make it a four-point game.
It was later 79-71 when senior forward Bennie Boatwright worked his way to the line for one of two free throws, Usher converted a fast-break layup and free throw and Boatwright drained a 3 from the right wing to cut the deficit to 1 with 36.3 seconds to play.
USC immediately fouled Santa Clara's Josh Martin, who missed both free throws, and Mathews followed with a driving layup from the right wing to give the Trojans an 80-79 lead with 23.7 seconds remaining.
The Trojans would block Trey Wertz's layup on the other end, but Santa Clara retained possession and Josip Vrankic drew a foul on Usher with 3.5 seconds to play. He hit the first free throw and missed the second, sending the game into overtime.
From there, though, USC would have almost no luck stopping Wertz, the Broncos' crafty freshman guard.
The Trojans had leads of 85-83, 87-85 and 89-87 in overtime, but each time Wertz answered. A defensive lapse gave him an easy layup in the waning seconds to force the second overtime.
Wertz then scored 11 more points in that second extra period as Santa Clara pulled away. He finished with a game-high 28 points, scoring 23 of those after halftime. Vrankic added 22 points and Tahj Eaddy scored 21 as the Broncos shot 53.1 percent for the game.
USC shot 39 percent, led by 22 points from Usher, 20 from Mathews, 17 from Aaron and 14 points and 9 rebounds from Boatwright, who did much of his damage late. Usher matched his season high with that output and Mathews posted his second-best scoring total of the year. Ultimately, the Trojans probably needed more from Boatwright earlier in the game.
They did a better job protecting the basketball this time, winning the turnover margin 19-10, but they scouldn't find an answer for Wertz late.
And they simply can't seem to find an answer to stem their early struggles this season.
Freshman standout Kevin Porter Jr. remains out with a calf injury, which has certainly hindered the Trojans' plans. But with or without him, this team still doesn't have a notable win all season.
USC closes the non-conference schedule with home games against Southern Utah and UC Davis over the next week and a half before heading into Pac-12 play.
They'll hope to find at least some positive momentum in that time.
