Jan 22, 2025; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Southern California Trojans guard Desmond Claude (1) drives against Nebraska Cornhuskers guard Rollie Worster (24) during the second half at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-Imagn Images Desmond Claude scored 21 points and Wesley Yates III added 17 as Southern California continued to look comfortable on the road on Wednesday, earning a 78-73 victory over Nebraska in Lincoln.
Rashaun Agee scored 14 points off the bench and Nebraska native Saint Thomas added 11 for the Trojans (12-7, 4-4 Big Ten), who improved to 3-1 in conference road games in their first season in the big Ten.
Agee went 4 of 6 from 3-point range after entering the game with six made baskets from long range on the season.
Juwan Gary scored 16 of his career-high 27 points in the first half and Brice Williams added 17 for Nebraska (12-7, 2-6), which lost its fifth consecutive game.
Connor Essegian had 15 for the Cornhuskers, who lost their second consecutive home game following the end of their 20-game winning streak on their own floor at the hands of Rutgers last Thursday.
In a tie game, Claude made a 3-pointer to give USC a 72-69 lead with 45 seconds remaining. An Essegian layup got the Cornhuskers within a point with 18 seconds left before Claude made a pair of free throws for a 74-71 advantage with 17 seconds left.
Berke Buyuktuncel scored inside to get Nebraska within 74-73 with 7.4 seconds left.
Yates made a pair of free throws with 6.3 seconds on the clock to put the Trojans up 76-73 before the Cornhuskers turned the ball over with 2.4 seconds left and Yates added two more free throws with 1.7 seconds left.
Over a tight second half, USC used a 6-0 run to pull ahead 62-57 with 4:53 remaining. A 7-2 run by Nebraska, capped by a three-point play by Williams, tied the score 64-64 with 3:24 left.
In the first meeting between the programs since 2012, USC held a 12-6 lead six minutes into the game before Nebraska led 24-18 with 8:01 remaining before halftime.
The Cornhuskers led 33-31 at the break after making half of their 28 shots. The Trojans were 0 of 9 from 3-point range while shooting 45.2 percent overall in the first half.
–Field Level Media
