LOS ANGELES_USC was doing whatever it wanted, as if UCLA granted its rivals the deed to the area around the basket.
Ethan Anderson drove for a layup. Nick Rakocevic curled into the paint for a dunk after beating Jalen Hill on a backdoor cut. Rakocevic missed a shot underneath the basket and it was no problem because he got not one tip-in opportunity but two, finally converting on his third chance.
Making the abundance of easy baskets early in the second half all the more jarring for the Bruins, their rivals were scoring at will with barely any contribution from their best player.
USC freshman forward Onyeka Onkongwu was a nonfactor because of passivity and foul trouble, but it didn't matter given the surge of production from teammates that powered the Trojans to a 74-63 victory Saturday night at Pauley Pavilion.
USC made eight of its first nine shots after halftime and shot 69.6% while scoring 41 points in the second half, quieting UCLA's season-high sellout crowd of 13,659 that included Bruins legends Kareem Abdul Jabbar along the baseline and Bill Walton at midcourt on the television broadcast.
"Obviously, our defense in the second half is about as bad as it can get," said UCLA coach Mick Cronin, who also credited the Trojans for what he described as a couple of backbreaking three-pointers late in the shot clock.
The Trojans (13-3 overall, 2-1 Pac-12 Conference) beat the Bruins (8-8, 1-2) on their home court for the first time since January 2016 as Rakocevic led the way with 17 points and 14 rebounds and guard Jonah Mathews added 16 points. Cronin also credited Anderson for controlling the game with his toughness and penetration while finishing with 14 points and three assists for the Trojans, who shot 57.4% for the game.
"You give up 57% for the game defensively, it's hard to win," Cronin said. "You actually have no chance."
UCLA had identified holding USC to 73 points or fewer as a goal because the Bruins had won all eight games while limiting opponents to that threshold. They nearly did so until the Trojans' Elijah Weaver made one of two free throws with 17 seconds left.
Okongwu was an afterthought with four points on two-for-three shooting to go with two rebounds and three blocks in 24 minutes.
"Because they were focused on him, we had other guys step up," USC coach Andy Enfield said. "That's what it takes. It's a team game."
USC's efficiency allowed the Trojans to stretch a 33-31 halftime lead to 11 midway through the second half, putting the Bruins in need of points in a hurry. UCLA continued to trap and cut its deficit to six before USC's Daniel Utomi buried a corner three-pointer with 3:41 left to essentially seal the outcome.
"We're not a good defensive team," Cronin said. "I'm not making excuses for our guys anymore. It's trained or untrained, but they've been trained enough by now."
UCLA's Chris Smith finished with a team-high 16 points, but he was relatively quiet after scoring 11 in the first half on an array of moves, including a baseline drive for a dunk over Utomi. Hill scored 10 of his 14 points in the second half.
Two weeks after an embarrassing loss to Cal State Fullerton, UCLA returned to its home court and was outrebounded for the first time this season. The Trojans outrebounded the Bruins 35-31.
"Our problem was we only had 19 defensive rebounds in the game because we couldn't stop them," Cronin said. "All we did was get it out of the net, especially in the second half."
USC held the halftime lead despite struggling against a Bruins' full-court press that forced four turnovers and getting only two points from Okongwu, who seemed out of rhythm from the opening tip.
Onkongwu took only two shots in the first half, making one, before going to the bench after picking up his second foul with 7:06 left before halftime.
The Trojans were ahead because of some strong play from Anderson, who scored the game's first points on an alley-oop layup and barely slowed down on the way to 12 points by halftime. Anderson drilled a three-pointer off a drive and kick from Weaver and converted an old-fashioned three-point play after making a layup and getting fouled by Smith.
UCLA stuck with its four-guard starting lineup to counter USC's superior front line and received some early dividends from freshman guard Jaime Jaquez Jr., who scored five early points before going to the bench for the rest of the first half with his second foul.
