Fall of Troy: Jordan Marsh nails game winner in 3OT to keep Trojans season undefeated

LOS ANGELES, CA -- Who says November college basketball is not entertaining?

Three overtimes and a three-pointer for the game winner by an unsuspecting hero in Jordan Marsh is what it took for the USC Trojans to come out victorious Thursday night at the Galen Center against the Troy Trojans by a slim margin of 107-106.

"You look at his three-point percentage, and thus far, it's pretty good," USC Head Coach Eric Musselman said on Marsh and his success from beyond the arc this season. "But that was obviously a broken play, and I am glad that I didn't call a timeout."

To begin this contest, the overall tenacity for USC was absent as Troy outrebounded USC 24-14 and also outscored them with 11 second-chance points. In terms of offense, USC was ice cold from the floor, shooting a combined 9-26 from the floor and a field goal percentage of 35%.

The home faithful at the Galen Center got their money's worth and more as soon as the second half started, as both Trojan teams were going punch for punch offensively. This back-and-forth fiasco would lead to not one, not two, but three overtimes to determine a winner.

For USC, Chad Baker-Mazara was the leading scorer with yet another career high in points with 34. Along with his new career high, he tallied 9 rebounds and 5 blocks in 53 minutes played on the floor.

Baker-Mazara was probably feeling extra pressure until the final possession of the game, as his parents were in attendance, having traveled from the Dominican Republic to Southern California to watch their son play. In the postgame, Baker-Mazara said that it was exciting seeing them in the stands before the game and that he discussed with his brother afterwards how he had never had 30 points in his collegiate career until his parents showed up.

Rodney Rice and Ezra Ausar followed suit behind Baker-Mazara offensively, as Rice had 26 points on 6-19 shooting and 9 assists, while Ausar had 22 points to his credit on 8-11 shooting and 7 rebounds. But no other shot was as important as Marsh's game-winner in the winding seconds of the third overtime at the Galen Center.

"I saw one of the Troy players just lob the ball to another player, and then I saw Rodney, so I knew Rodney was going to get the ball," Marsh recounted when asked what had happened the last couple of seconds before draining the game-winning three. "I just went to the open spot on the court, saw that there were three seconds left when I caught the ball, and I just shot the ball and it went in."

As the smoke clears, the USC Trojans now set their sights on Hawaii to play in the Maui Invitational beginning Monday as they are slated to face Boise State in the first of three games.