USC men’s basketball is struggling to push through a variety of injuries this season and continue winning after three straight years of NCAA tournament appearances and high expectations entering the season. Near the bottom of the Pac-12, the program’s scouting department must have been watching the Harvard-Westlake regional semifinals game on Saturday with a gleam in their eye.
Trent Perry, a four-star point guard committed to the Trojans, put up 42 points and made important free throws at the end of the game to lead the Wolverines to a 73-72 win over Carlsbad and secure an appearance in the regional finals.
According to Dan Lovi with the LA Daily News, Perry had 29 points in the second half. He also had seven rebounds and five assists in the game, according to the outlet.
Trent Perry showed why he’s heading to Houston on April 2, for the McDonald’s All-American game, after posting a 42-point performance in @hwhoops 73-72 @cifstate Regional Semi-Final win over Carlsbad. pic.twitter.com/33Zyr1ehoL
— Harvard-Westlake (@hwathletics) March 3, 2024
Harvard-Westlake’s next game will be against Roosevelt, a team the Wolverines beat less than two weeks ago to win the CIF Southern Section Open Division championship. Their upcoming matchup will be on Tuesday: the State Open Division semifinals.
Perry, who is listed at 6-foot-4 and 175 pounds, will look to show out once again.
This season, USC has not lived up to expectations after returning multiple starters and recruiting elite prospects Isaiah Collier and Bronny James. A large part of that is due to injuries — Collier and veterans Boogie Ellis and Joshua Morgan have missed significant time this season, throwing rotations into flux.
With Perry, ranked the No. 38 player and No. 5 point guard on the 247Sports rankings, leading a Trojans recruiting class that also includes three-star power forward Brody Kozlowski and three-star shooting guard Liam Campbell, USC will hope to finish this season by showing progress in the conference tournament, and then pick it up next year in the Big Ten with some new talent.