Shelstad scores career-high 24 points as No. 12 Oregon tops USC 68-60 in Big Ten debut for both

Dec 5, 2024, 05:32 pm

LOS ANGELES -- — Jackson Shelstad scored 21 of his career-high 24 points after halftime and No. 12 Oregon beat USC 68-60 in the Big Ten Conference debut for both teams Wednesday night.

Shelstad made 12 of 14 free throws and reserve Keeshawn Barthelemey added 18 points on 4-for-5 shooting from 3-point range.

Oregon's leading scorers, Nate Bittle and TJ Bamba, each had just five points. Bittle entered averaging 14.6 per game, and Bamba was averaging 13.

Oregon (9-0, 1-0) shot 21 of 55 (38.2%) from the field, including 8 of 23 (34.8%) on 3s.

Desmond Claude had 20 points for USC (5-4, 0-1), and Chibuzo Agbo added 18 while making all 10 of his foul shots.

Takeaways

Oregon: After trailing for most of the game, the Ducks surged ahead late. Shelstad hit a 3-pointer with 4:10 remaining to break a 55-all tie and give Oregon its first lead since 2-0.

USC: The starters did the lion's share of the work as coach Eric Musselman used four players off the bench — one of whom played just one minute. The reserves contributed eight points, all by Kevin Patton, in 50 combined minutes.

Key moment

Bamba missed his first 11 shots before burying a corner 3 to trim Oregon's deficit to 49-44 with eight minutes left. The Ducks took control with a 10-0 run aided by five USC turnovers down the stretch.

Key stat

Oregon outscored the Trojans 22-7 in the final 6 1/2 minutes.

Up next

Oregon hosts UCLA on Sunday. USC plays at Washington on Saturday.

------

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball