Illness hits USC men, but Desmond Claude’s return helps them defeat Penn State

Wesley Yates III wiped the sweat already pouring from his forehead and steeled himself for the 40 minutes to come. The freshman was running on fumes. It had been a miserable few days leading up to Tuesday night, as an illness wreaked havoc on USC’s rotation, right after the Trojans returned from a two-loss trip in which their egos and tournament hopes had taken a considerable hit.

And now, at the worst possible time, Yates and fellow starter Chibuzo Agbo, two of USC’s three leading scorers, both were sick. They had spent the afternoon and most of the preceding days on intermittent IV drips, forcing USC to completely rearrange its plans, their statuses very much in doubt for a conference game the Trojans could ill afford to lose.

“When I left my house this morning, I didn’t think they were going to play,” USC coach Eric Musselman acknowledged.

But by Tuesday night’s tipoff against Penn State, the guards took their places as usual, convinced they could tough it out. So too did Desmond Claude, the Trojans’ floor general whose absence because of a bruised knee had hobbled USC’s offense in losses to Northwestern and Purdue

None of USC’s three top scorers were anywhere near 100%. Claude fought through a slight limp all night, tending to his knee at each stoppage. Agbo still was struggling with symptoms, while Yates got hit in the face and, by Musselman’s estimation, broke his nose.

But no matter. In the face of it all and with the Trojans’ hopes for this season hinging on turning things around in a hurry, their battered trio still helped deliver one of USC’s most resounding victories, steamrolling Penn State 92-67.

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“This was a must-win for us,” Musselman said. “This is a game I’ll remember for a while, just because of how unsure we were about what was going on. I mean, we practiced without three starters. It was a weird couple days.”

Agbo, whose status was perhaps the most in doubt, had been so sick that he had to miss game prep this week, which left Musselman reeling. But Agbo looked as smooth as ever from three-point range as he hit a career-high seven of nine to lead the team with 21 points, tying a season high.

Yates, the sicker of the two by game time, still filled up the stat sheet, adding 13 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals, most of which came after a collision left blood gushing uncontrollably from his nose. He missed less than five minutes of game time to stop the bleeding in the locker room … before returning to play the rest of the game.

Neither Agbo nor Yates looked like they’d spent the last few days sick and depleted. It was just the sort of dogged showing that Musselman demands from his players, a performance that reminded him of the message his father once preached: When in a tough spot, play your toughest guys.

“We’re all tough,” Claude said. “Wes got hit in his nose. He wasn’t feeling well. Buzo hit seven threes. He wasn’t feeling well.”

An aching knee couldn’t slow Claude. He played 36 of 40 minutes, knifing through the lane with relative ease. Without him the previous two games, USC (14-10, 6-7 Big Ten) had been largely aimless on offense. But in his return, Claude scored 16 and dished out eight assists as the Trojans quickly regained their footing on the offensive end. He added eight turnovers too, but those could be forgiven amid the transformation his return wrought.

“Without Des,” Musselman said, “we’re just a different team.”

With the offense clicking, Tuesday was one of the few nights USC might have been fine without him. The Trojans shot an incredible 67%, including 75% (12 for16) from three-point range. Over the first 11 minutes of the second half, USC didn’t miss a shot.

It took a team effort to mount such a convincing win, with key contributions from role players such as freshman Jalen Shelley, who had nine points in 14 minutes, and big man Josh Cohen, who returned to the starting lineup and scored 12 points while drawing eight fouls, most of which came against Penn State’s lead rim protector, Yanic Konan Niederhauser, who fouled out after just 11 minutes.

The strong showing couldn’t have come soon enough, considering how tightly the Trojans are clinging to the NCAA tournament bubble. With five losses in their previous seven games, USC desperately needed to stop its sudden slide. Either that or bid adieu to any hope of finishing Musselman’s first season with a shot in March.

The coach communicated that message loud and clear this week. Still, he wasn’t sure who he’d have available. He rearranged practice in the days leading up and crossed his fingers. The week, he said, was “discombobulated.”

But the swelling in Claude’s knee went down. Agbo’s condition improved. And Yates, his teammates said, was going to fight through whatever came his way. No matter how much blood might pour out of his nose.

And by Tuesday night, through illness and injury, USC walked away with a much-needed victory, the Trojans feeling much better than they did 40 minutes before.