EUGENE, Ore. — The USC men’s basketball team is headed in the wrong direction.
Rashaun Agee led the Trojans with 29 points and 14 rebounds, but it wasn’t near enough as the Ducks pulled away in the second half for an 82-61 victory Saturday at Matthew Knight Arena.
The 6-foot-8 Agee, making his fourth start of the season and first in six games, shot 10 of 14 from the floor. The rest of the Trojans shot 11 of 47 (23.4%) as they lost their fifth straight and seventh in their last eight games.
Chibuzo Agbo added 13 points and Wesley Yates III 12 for USC (14-15, 6-12 Big Ten), which committed 16 turnovers that led to 19 Oregon points.
Keeshawn Barthelemy scored 20 points and Jackson Shelstad added 19 for the Ducks’ fifth straight victory.
Barthelemy shot 8 of 10 with four 3-pointers and Shelstad was 8 of 15 with a trio of 3s for the Ducks (21-8, 10-8 Big Ten), who shot 47.8% (32 of 67). Nate Bittle added 15 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
The Ducks led by five at halftime and were up only seven with seven minutes to go when they went on a 16-0 run over 3½ minutes that ended with two Barthelemy 3-pointers and another from Shelstad for a 76-53 lead.
Oregon’s bench outscored USC 19-4.
A late 6-0 run led to a 39-34 lead in the first half for Oregon, which shot 53% and outscored the Trojans 10-3 off 10 turnovers, making up for a 1-for-7 showing at the 3-point arc. Agee had 15 points at the break.
Oregon won at USC 68-60 on Dec. 4.
USC comes home for a game Wednesday versus Washington and then wraps up its regular season against crosstown rival UCLA on March 8 at Pauley Pavilion.
Oregon is home against Indiana on Tuesday then plays at Washington on Jan. 9.