Jacob Cofie ignites USC’s second-half surge in season-opening win over Cal Poly

USC sophomore forward Jacob Cofie wouldn’t reveal exactly what coach Eric Musselman said in the locker room at halftime on Monday night — only that it “definitely fired me up.”

Whatever it was, it worked as Cofie, one of 10 transfers, came alive with 19 points and six rebounds in the second half, finishing with a double-double as the Trojans pulled away to a comfortable 94-64 win over Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in their season opener at Galen Center.

Cofie, a Virginia transfer, finished with 23 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks and Ezra Ausar added 21 points, six rebounds and four assists. Rodney Rice had 21 points and eight assists for the Trojans.

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“I felt really good,” Cofie said. “I felt like I let the game come to me. I scored off a lot of assists from Rodney, Ezra [Ausar], and yeah, let the game come to me.”

For most of Monday night, USC played like a team with 13 new players. Musselman’s preseason concerns about the Trojans’ offense likely were not abated after seeing the Trojans struggle in the first half, shooting just 41% from the floor and 36% from deep while being out-rebounded (22-20). They also failed to fully capitalize on 22 Cal Poly turnovers.

USC couldn’t run away with the game in the first half as Cal Poly, a mid-major coming off a 16-19 season, only trailed by six points at halftime.

As the first half went on, the Trojans struggled to keep pace with the Mustangs. At one point, Musselman began to question if his team was conditioned enough.

“[Cal Poly has] a certain identity, a certain style,” Musselman said. “And you have to give them a lot of credit. They played the way that they wanted to play.”

Musselman also found more opportunities for Cofie, who played 10 and 15 minutes in each of the Trojans’ two exhibition games against Loyola Marymount and Grand Canyon. He played 26 minutes Monday. Part of that was dictated by matchups — USC didn’t need as much rim protection against Cal Poly as much as it needed someone who could guard the three-point line — but it was also Cofie’s consistency ahead of the opener that convinced Musselman he was worthy of more playing time.

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Cofie was more aggressive getting to the rim than hunting the three, though he did make his one attempt from deep in the second half.

Cofie immediately set the tone for the second half with a steal, followed by an offensive rebound and a tip-in dunk within the first 30 seconds. He finished the game by making his final four shots, including a dunk with 41 seconds left.

“He rim-rolled with force,” Musselman said. “I really loved the interior passing of our bigs. ... I think with Jacob, he wanted to play more minutes than he had seen in those two exhibition games, so I think he was focused and really wanted to prove [himself].”

Musselman said USC’s lineup might be tweaked on a game-to-game basis. He has to find enough minutes for Cofie, Ausar and Gabe Dynes, who played extensively in the team’s two exhibition games, but was limited to six minutes against Cal Poly.

“When we built the roster, we didn’t build the roster for those two guys [Cofie and Ausar] to play 10-15 minutes,” Musselman said. “And you can’t play all three of them 30 minutes. There’s not enough time.”

He likes the versatility of Cofie and Ausar. He likes their lateral speed and how they paired offensively on Monday night. Matchups will probably dictate their roles in the games ahead.

But Cofie probably earned himself another hard look heading into the Trojans’ next game against Manhattan on Sunday.