Freshman Adonis Ratliff led all players with 25 points in his debut for No. 21 USC and the Trojans cruised past visiting Milwaukee 95-63 Monday in Los Angeles in the season opener for both teams.
Ratliff and his twin brother Darius were among five scorers in double figures for USC, which never trailed. Darius Ratliff finished with 14 points and was one of the five Trojans to connect on at least one 3-point attempt.
Adonis Ratliff’s 5-of-7 mark from deep paced USC to a blistering 12 of 22 as a team from behind the arc. Rodney Rice, making his first appearance since a shoulder injury last November cut short his promising start to the 2025-26 campaign, knocked down three 3-pointers on six attempts.
Rice also returned to his form of a year ago directing the offense with nine assists. Twenty-five of USC’s 33 field goals in the game came off assists, as nine different Trojans dished at least one and seven produced multiple.
The Panthers struggled to muster much offensively, shooting 23 of 62 (37%) from the floor. Milwaukee could not match USC’s torrid 3-point pace, hitting just six of its 23 attempts from beyond the arc.
Amare Hereford came off the bench to lead the Panthers with 14 points and Tre Norman added 13 on 5-of-13 shooting. Jake Hansen (2 of 2) and Isaiah Dorceus (2 of 5) were the only Milwaukee players to hit multiple 3-point shots. Dorceus scored 10 points and Hansen eight.
USC, meanwhile, got 21 points from Alijah Arenas, 15 from Rice and 10 from reserve KJ Lewis. Arenas also grabbed a game-high eight rebounds and swiped a pair of the Trojans’ 12 steals.
USC leveraged its defense to overwhelm Milwaukee early, holding the Panthers scoreless for a nearly seven-minute stretch in the first half. The Trojans blew the game open with a 15-0 run at that juncture.
