The USC Trojans defeated themselves, 76-68, in their annual intrasquad scrimmage held Sunday afternoon at the Galen Center. Freshman guard OJ Mayo scored a game-high 34 points and added six steals and four assists to lead the victorious Cardinal team over the Gold squad. The latter group was led by F Davon Jefferson and G Dwight Lewis, each returning from recent injuries to score 18 points.

The game was called with 3:24 remaining due to a lack of available players. Missing the contest were Daniel Hackett (broken jaw), Marcus Simmons (sprained ankle) and RouSean Cromwell (who was ill). F Taj Gibson started the game, but was forced out when he reaggravated a sprained ankle. He is expected to sit out a few days to let the ankle have a chance to heal.

One encouraging stat: the teams combined to shoot over 55% (16 of 29) from behind the 3-point line. Long-distance shooting was one of the question marks facing the Trojans this season after the departures of Lodrick Stewart, Nick Young, and Gabe Pruitt, who combined to take almost all of the team’s three-point attempts last season.

Next up for the Trojans: two more weeks of practice, followed by the start of the season Saturday, November 10th, when USC hosts Mercer at the Galen Center.

Cardinal Defeats Gold 76-68 In Annual Intrasquad Game At Galen Center (Official USC site)
Injuries keep piling up (LA Times)