BERKELEY, Calif. (Interstat) — Southern California beat California 77-65 on Wednesday in a men’s NCAA Division I basketball game at Haas Pavilion. Jacob Cofie anchored the Trojans with 13 points, 15 rebounds, six assists and three blocks, and Southern California improved to 3-0. California dropped to 2-2 before an announced attendance of 5,087. The Trojans closed with control after California had trimmed the deficit in the second half, and Cofie’s work on the glass and at the rim helped Southern California withstand the Golden Bears’ best push.

Southern California led 39-30 at halftime after a late first-half run. California opened quickly when Jake Wilkins made two free throws, Sammie Yeanay hit a 3-pointer and Yeanay added a dunk for an early 9-2 lead. Southern California answered with Rodney Rice’s jump shot and 3-pointer, then Alijah Arenas made a layup to help the Trojans settle in. Rice made two free throws to cut the lead to 11-9, and after Jovani Ruff made two free throws for California, KJ Lewis hit a 3-pointer. Michael Cooper answered with a 3-pointer, but Jadis Jones made a layup and Rice made a floating jump shot to tie the game at 16. Semetri Carr made a layup, Arenas made a floating jump shot, Mantas Kocanas made a layup, and Arenas made a layup and free throw to put Southern California ahead 21-20. Lewis made a turnaround jump shot, Ross made a layup, Arenas made a floating jump shot, and Cofie added a dunk as the Trojans built their halftime lead. Rice hit a 3-pointer with 41.8 seconds left, and Lewis added two free throws with 4.4 seconds remaining to send the Trojans into halftime with a nine-point cushion.

California made its run after the break. Wilkins made two free throws, Yeanay converted a tip-in layup and Jordan Ross made a driving layup to cut the Southern California lead to 39-36. The Trojans responded with Lewis’ 3-pointer and Arenas’ floating jump shot, but California stayed close. Wilkins made a dunk, Arenas made a floating jump shot, Ross made a layup, and Cofie made a dunk before Rice’s free throws stretched the lead to 49-40. California answered with Carr’s two free throws, and Indrusaitis made a 3-pointer and a jump shot before his two free throws brought the Golden Bears within 53-49. After Arenas answered with a floating jump shot and a jump shot, Indrusaitis hit another 3-pointer to make it 57-54 with 8:48 remaining. That was as close as California would get.

The decisive stretch came immediately after Indrusaitis’ 3-pointer. Southern California responded with a 12-5 burst that turned the game. Cofie made a layup, Lewis added a layup, Jadis Jones scored twice inside, Lewis made two free throws and Cofie threw down a dunk. Cofie’s free throw pushed the lead to 70-59, and Arenas’ 3-pointer with 2:44 left made it 73-60. California never recovered. The Golden Bears got a late layup from Mantas Kocanas and a tip-in from Semetri Carr, but Southern California closed it out at the free-throw line. Jalen Cox made two free throws with 22.5 seconds remaining to set the final margin.

Southern California scored 77 points from 74 possessions, an offensive rating of 104.2. California scored 65 points from 74 possessions, an offensive rating of 87.9. The Trojans shot 26 of 64 from the floor, 6 of 21 from 3-point range and 19 of 25 from the free-throw line. The Golden Bears shot 23 of 66 from the floor, 4 of 23 from 3-point range and 15 of 21 from the free-throw line. Southern California had 14 offensive rebounds to California’s 8 and blocked nine shots to California’s two. Southern California committed 12 turnovers and 15 fouls, while California committed six turnovers and 21 fouls. Southern California had three assists and California had seven.

California held edges in points in the paint, 34-26, points off turnovers, 12-4, and fast-break points, 16-4. Those advantages were not enough to offset the Golden Bears’ shooting struggles from beyond the arc and at the rim. Southern California’s size and rebounding made the difference, especially after California cut the lead to three in the second half. The Trojans finished with 26 points in the paint and four fast-break points, while California scored 34 in the paint and 12 off turnovers. Southern California also held a 14-8 advantage on the offensive glass and a 9-2 edge in blocked shots, helping overcome a 12-6 turnover deficit.

Cofie’s all-around line led Southern California. Arenas added 19 points, seven rebounds and one block in 37 minutes. Rice finished with 18 points, five rebounds and three assists. Lewis had 16 points, three rebounds, two assists and one block. Jones contributed six points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two blocks. For California, Yeanay scored 14 points and grabbed three rebounds. Indrusaitis had 13 points, six rebounds and three assists. Wilkins added eight points, two rebounds, one assist and two blocks. Ross had seven points, four rebounds and three assists. Carr finished with six points, five rebounds and five assists.

Southern California had opened the season with wins over Wichita State and Milwaukee. California had lost at Houston and beaten Radford and Adams State. Cofie had 16 points and three blocks against Wichita State and two points against Milwaukee in his previous two games before breaking through on the glass and defensively against the Golden Bears. The Trojans’ next scheduled game is against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, while California is set to host Utah Tech.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of California 79, Southern California 73. Interstat’s ELO system gave California a 59.8 percent probability to win. Southern California had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -8.5. The total score of 142 was recorded against an over/under line of 161.5.