Freshman Alijah Arenas delivered a breakout performance, scoring a career-high 29 points to lead Southern California past Indiana 81-75 on Tuesday in Los Angeles.
The Trojans (17-6, 6-6 Big Ten Conference) led almost the entire way thanks to a stout defensive effort, holding the visiting Hoosiers to 41.3% shooting from the floor and dominating on the glass 40-25.
Five Trojans grabbed between five and seven rebounds, including leading scorer Arenas who pulled down six. His work on the glass marked another career high to go with his scoring output, which almost matched his combined total from his first four games with USC.
The blue-chip prospect sustained a knee injury in the summer that delayed his college debut until Jan. 21, Arenas scored 30 points on 12-of-42 shooting from the floor through his initial stretch, but Tuesday saw him emerge to go 9-for-23 from the field.
Arenas’ ability to get to the rim also produced an 8-of-9 free-throw shooting performance, buoying the Trojans on a night that the foul line was key for the win.
USC went 25 of 31 at the charity stripe to Indiana’s 13 of 16. Four of the Trojans’ six missed foul shots were by Kam Woods, who went just 4-of-8 at the line but finished with 18 points.
The free-throw gap helped USC overcome a 10-of-35 to 6-of-17 edge in 3-point shooting for the Hoosiers (15-8, 6-6).
Lamar Wilkerson did the majority of Indiana’s work from downtown, connecting on 5 of 12 3-point attempts on the way to a game-high 33 points. He notched 12 points in the final 10 minutes to help Indiana stay within striking distance.
The Hoosiers whittled a gap that grew to as many as 14 points down to two in the final minute, but USC hit all six of its free-throw attempts down the stretch to keep Indiana at bay.
The loss ended a three-game winning streak for the Hoosiers.
