Alijah Arenas, Rodney Rice lead 21st-ranked USC to 77-65 win at California to stay unbeaten

BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) — Alijah Arenas had 19 points and seven rebounds, Rodney Rice added 18 points and five rebounds, and No. 21 USC beat California 77-65 on Wednesday night in a nonconference matchup between the former Pac-12 foes.

Jacob Cofie contributed 13 points, matched his career high with rebounds and dished out six assists and KJ Lewis scored 16 for USC (3-0), which dominated on the boards 53-36.

Sammie Yeanay scored 14 points and Nojus Indrusaitis 13 to lead the Golden Bears (2-2) on a night 5,087 fans turned out for the 8 p.m. tipoff.

And their attendance paid off: Arenas missed two free throws midway through the second half, earning everybody at Haas Pavilion a free burger at the Berkeley Shake Shack.

It was a homecoming of sorts for USC and third-year coach Eric Musselman, who coached both the Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings. Arenas is the son of former Warriors guard Gilbert Arenas and the star sophomore had a large contingent of friends and family in the stands.

The Trojans topped Wichita State 93-86 on Sunday with Rice and Arenas each scoring career highs — 32 points for Rice and 30 for Arenas — and again relied on their depth to pull away in the second half.

USC has won nine of the last 11 matchups in the series but hadn’t won on Cal’s home floor since Nov. 30, 2022.

Cal, which won 22 games last season for its most victories since 2016, faced a Top 25 opponent for the second straight game and hasn't beaten a ranked team since an 84-78 victory over 14th-ranked North Carolina on Jan. 17. The Golden Bears lost to then-No. 10 Houston 86-68 on Sunday night in the inaugural Caesars Lake Tahoe Classic.

The Bears jumped out to a 9-2 lead as USC was slow getting going offensively and committed three quick turnovers. Then Lewis connected from deep at the 11:39 mark.

Since the Pac-12 dismantled, USC went to the Big Ten while Cal is now in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

USC: Hosts Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Sunday.

California: Hosts Utah Tech on Saturday.

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