By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Out-hustled for most of the first half, the USC Trojans responded Wednesday night by scoring the last 13 points before intermission, on their way to an easy 97-70 victory over the UTSA Roadrunners.

USC (11-1) of the Big Ten Conference shot 59 percent from the field and outscored the visiting team from Texas 57-39 in the second half en route to its third straight win.

Senior forward Ezra Ausar led the Trojans with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Forward Chad Baker-Mazara, who played in the Final Four last year with Auburn, had 20 points, five rebounds and five assists.

USC entered the week receiving votes, just behind the Top 25, in the Associated Press poll. The Trojans entered Wednesday night’s game at the Galen Center 39th in the NET rankings.

Playing without starting guard Austin Nunez, UTSA (4-7) lost its fourth straight despite the efforts of Jamir Simpson, Brett Moss and Kaidon Rayfield. Simpson and Moss scored 16 points each and Rayfield 14.

The Roadrunners started off the game well, crashing the boards and creating a few turnovers, but they failed to slow down the pace when the momentum turned.

As a result, their losing streak has reached four games, with all of the scoring margins by 24 points or more.

UTSA will now return home to San Antonio with one home game remaining (Monday against Seattle) before the start of conference play in the American.

The Roadrunners’ last win came on Nov. 25 in Jacksonville, Fla., when they beat the Georgia Southern Eagles, 77-64.

In the losing streak, they started it off with the South Alabama Jaguars, who beat the ‘Runners 82-58 at the Convocation Center.

Subsequently, they took to the road for three straight against power conference opponents and dropped all three, falling to nationally-ranked Alabama, 97-55; to Colorado, 88-64 and now to USC.

Against the Trojans, they played well enough to win for the first 17 minutes and then went flat. The Roadrunners finished by shooting 34.9 percent from the field and 25.9 percent from three.

UTSA hit seven of 27 from behind the arc.

In the USC camp, the Trojans announced on game day that high-scoring guard Rodney Rice would be lost for the season.

On the other hand, it was reported that freshman guard Alijah Arenas could be getting ready to play after sitting out the first 12 games.

It didn’t seem to matter either way for the Trojans, who blew out the Roadrunners and led by as many as 29 points late in the game.

Records

UTSA 4-7
USC 11-1

Coming up

Seattle at UTSA, Monday, 2 p.m.

Notable

The Roadrunners finished their non-conference run against power conference teams at 0-3 this season, extending the program’s losing streak against the majors to 31 games.

UTSA hasn’t won against a power conference team (Big Ten, Big 12, SEC, ACC or Pac 12) since beating Iowa on the road in November of 2009.

With Nunez out, Moss started in his place on a guard line that included Dorian Hayes and Simpson. Daniel Akitoby started along with Kaidon Rayfield on the front line.

Akitoby finished with four points and seven rebounds in 16 minutes. Freshman Matheo Coffi, a frontcourt starter most of the season, came off the bench. He finished with zero points and four rebounds.

First half

The Trojans picked up the intensity in the final minutes of the half, overcoming a four-point deficit to take a 40-31 lead at intermission.

For the first 17 minutes in the half, the Roadrunners used a strong performance on the boards to play the Trojans mostly on even terms.

Moss hit a jumper and Jamir Simpson added two free throws to lift UTSA into a 31-27 advantage with less than four minutes remaining.

From there, the Trojans retaliated with their best effort of the night.

Forcing the pace with their defense on one end, they hit five of eight shots on the other.

The Trojans capped the run in the final minute with a 6-0 streak. Chad Baker-Mazara started it by picking up a steal. Later, he snared an offensive rebound and followed it in.

After a miss by Akitoby, junior guard Jordan Marsh responded on the other end with a three-pointer.

USC’s defense stepped up again as Ryan Cornish got a steal off UTSA’s Jamir Simpson, which led to a driving layup by Marsh with 27 seconds left.

UTSA turned it over again on its last possession, but USC’s Terrence Williams II missed a three at the buzzer.

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The UTSA men will face a third straight road test against an opponent from a power conference Wednesday night in Los Angeles, taking on the USC Trojans at 8 p.m. at the Galen Center.

The Roadrunners have lost three straight, losing by 24 points or more to South Alabama at home, and then on the road at 12th-ranked Alabama and Colorado.

After returning from the trip, UTSA will play Seattle at home on Monday in the final non-conference game on the schedule. UTSA opens play in the American on Dec. 31 at Florida Atlantic.

Eric Musselman-coached USC is receiving votes in this week’s Associated Press Top 25 poll. The Trojans, averaging 87.5 points, are 39th in Wednesday’s NET rankings.

UTSA is No. 308 out of 365 teams in Division I. In their last game, the Roadrunners played on even terms with the Buffaloes for a half, trailing by three before losing 88-64.

In the second half, Colorado started to click, hitting 62 percent from the field and ultimately matching its scoring average for the season.

USC has its own prolific offense that will present problems for UTSA. The Trojans shoot 48 percent from the field and 37 percent from three.

Auburn transfer Chad Baker-Mazara averages 21.6 points to lead the Trojans. Baker-Mazara, a 6-7 forward who grew up in the Dominican Republic, is a 38-percent three-point shooter.

USC is in transition with its personnel after star guard Rodney Rice went out with an injury in late November. He hasn’t played since. Rice was averaging 20.3 points through six games.

Records

UTSA 4-6
USC 10-1

Coming up

Seattle at UTSA, Monday, 2 p.m.