Sports
Alijah Arenas leads USC to win over Indiana, but Chad Baker-Mazara is injured
After USC leading scorer Chad Baker-Mazara went down early in the second half with what appeared to be a knee injury, freshman Alijah Arenas knew what he needed to do. When Trojan starters Ezra Ausar and Jacob Cofie fouled out late in the second half, nothing changed.
USC’s game against Indiana (15-8, 6-6 Big Ten) Tuesday night at the Galen Center was close early. Arenas, who had struggled with efficiency since debuting for the Trojans in mid-January, started four of 14 from the field and one of six on three-point attempts.
During the ensuing 19 minutes, Arenas showed why he was a five-star recruit, delivering a team-high 29 points and helping the Trojans (17-6, 6-6) hang on for a 81-75 win over the Hoosiers. It was Arenas’ first double-digit scoring game of his college career.
“I made a conscious effort, against Northwestern, to start him and not bring him along slowly. I don’t regret that at all,” coach Eric Musselman said. “29 points in your fifth game in college when you haven’t played any nonconference games is pretty damn impressive.”
USC guard Alijah Arenas is pressured by Indiana guard Conor Enright Tuesday at the Galen Center.
(Jae C. Hong / Associated Press)
Musselman was especially complimentary of Arenas’ ability to get to the free-throw line — Arenas made eight of nine shots from the charity stripe and drew nine fouls, while committing none.
“We’ve started to see that [getting to the free-throw line] leads to wins,” Arenas said. “So I try the best I can to get to the line and knock them all down.”
Though Arenas’ performance was enough to hold back a late Hoosiers push, led by guard Lamar Wilkerson who scored a game-high 33 points, the Trojans lost one of their top scorers for an unknown amount of time.
After leaving the game, Baker-Mazara returned to the Trojans’ bench with ice on his knee and crutches.
Musselman said he thought Baker-Mazara likely suffered a sprained medial collateral ligament, but he won’t know for sure until the team receives MRI exam results.
USC is already without Rodney Rice, who was averaging over 20 points before sustaining a season-ending injury. Defensive specialist Amarion Dickerson is working to return from an injury. Other role players, including Jerry Easter II and Jordan Marsh, have also missed time recently.
With Baker-Mazara out with injury and Ausar and Cofie fouling out, Musselman was forced to turn to role players who had played minimal or no time earlier in the game to close out, including Marsh and Ryan Cornish.
“I’m about as proud as I can be, to think that Chad wouldn’t play the second half and those other two guys foul out and then we still found a way to win,” Musselman said. “This was a huge game. I told the team, ‘This game is not worth one game.’”
USC forward Chad Baker-Mazara goes up for a dunk in front of Indiana forward Sam Alexis Tuesday at the Galen Center. Baker-Mazara injured his knee later in the game.
(Jae C. Hong / Associated Press)
Entering the contest, the Hoosiers were hot after racking up three consecutive wins, including two in Quad 1, and were known for shooting three pointers at one of the highest rates in the country. The injury-riddled Trojans were on the NCAA tournament bubble and in need of a big home win.
While Indiana took more three-point shots, attempting 35 and making 10, a pair of second-half three-pointers from Arenas and guard Kam Woods gave USC the advantage in combined three-point shooting percentage, a key part of the win. The Trojans shot 35.3% from beyond the arc compared to Indiana’s 28.6% clip.
“We felt if they shot 29% or below from 3, we would win the game,” Musselman said. “I give them credit with their off-ball action. They’re really, really good setting flares and pin-ins.”
The Trojans also dominated on the boards, nabbing 38 rebounds, 11 offensive, as a team compared to Indiana’s 24 and seven. Center Gabe Dynes led the way for USC defensively, with seven boards to go along with three blocks off the bench.
An 18-point game from Woods and an Ausar’s 12 points, seven rebounds and four assists were also key as USC worked to offset Baker-Mazara’s absence on the offensive end.
Woods, who joined USC midway through the season from Robert Morris University, has quickly developed into a key player and leader for the Trojans. He played all but 26 seconds of Tuesday’s game, adding six rebounds and five fouls drawn to his strong point total.
“I don’t know where our season would be if we hadn’t picked up Kam when we did,” Musselman said. “Kam knows what I want. I don’t know how, because I haven’t had a lot of individual meetings with him, but he’s on the same wavelength with me.”
Next up for USC is a road trip to the Midwest, where it will face off against Penn State (10-12, 1-10) on Sunday at 9 a.m. PST before heading to Columbus, Ohio, to take on Ohio State (14-7, 6-5).
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Former Major League Baseball outfielder Yasiel Puig was found guilty by a jury in a federal gambling case, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced Friday.
The verdict followed a weekslong trial that included testimony from MLB officials and Donny Kadokawa, a Hawaii baseball coach tied to Puig and the illegal gambling operation.
Puig played for three major league teams, spending the bulk of his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He has not appeared in an MLB game since 2019. Puig, 35, now faces up to 20 years in federal prison.
His sentencing is scheduled for May 26.
Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder Yasiel Puig reacts after the third inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks during Game 3 of the 2017 NLDS playoff baseball series at Chase Field in Phoenix, Ariz., Oct. 9, 2017. (Mark J. Rebilas/USA Today Sports)
Puig’s attorney, Keri Curtis Axel, argued the government failed to prove key elements of its case and that she plans to raise post-trial motions.
“We look forward to clearing Yasiel’s name,” Axel said.
Puig initially pleaded guilty to a felony charge of lying to federal agents investigating an illegal gambling operation.
He acknowledged in an August 2022 plea agreement that he wracked up more than $280,000 in losses over a few months in 2019 while wagering on tennis, football and basketball games through a third party who worked for an illegal gambling operation run by Wayne Nix, a former minor league baseball player.
GUARDIANS’ EMMANUEL CLASE ARRESTED BY FBI AT JFK AIRPORT FOR ALLEGED ROLE IN GAMBLING SCHEME
Nix pleaded guilty in 2022 to conspiracy to operate an illegal gambling business and subscribing to a false tax return. Authorities said Puig placed at least 900 bets through Nix-controlled betting websites and through a man who worked for Nix.
Prosecutors said that, during a January 2022 interview with federal investigators, Puig denied knowing about the nature of his bets, who he was betting with and the circumstances of paying his gambling debts.
But he changed his tune months later, announcing that he was switching his plea to not guilty because of “significant new evidence,” according to a statement from his attorneys in Los Angeles.
“I want to clear my name,” Puig said in the statement. “I never should have agreed to plead guilty to a crime I did not commit.”
Yasiel Puig of Tiburones de La Guaira of Venezuela reacts after leaving a game due to injury in the fourth inning during a game against the Dominican Republic at loanDepot park as part of Series del Caribe 2024 Feb. 9, 2024, in Miami, Fla. (Luis Gutierrez/by Norte Photo/Getty Images)
The government argued he intentionally misled federal investigators. They played in court audio clips of Puig speaking English and brought expert witnesses to testify on Puig’s cognitive abilities, The New York Times reported.
His attorneys said Puig, who has a third-grade education, had untreated mental health issues and did not have his own interpreter or criminal legal counsel with him during the interview with federal investigators when he allegedly lied.
Yasiel Puig of Tiburones de la Guaira of Venezuela reacts in the fifth inning of a game against the Dominican Republic at loanDepot Park as part of the Serie del Caribe 2024 Feb. 1, 2024, in Miami, Fla. (Luis Gutierrez/Norte Photo/Getty Images)
Puig made his MLB debut with the Dodgers in 2013 and finished his major league career with 132 home runs and 415 RBIs. He was selected to the MLB All-Star team in 2014. Last year, he played for the Kiwoom Heroes, a professional baseball team based in Seoul.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL
FRIDAY’S RESULTS
BOYS
CITY SECTION
AMIT 59, Valor Academy 41
Angelou 63, Manual Arts 25
Animo Robinson 61, Jefferson 48
Bernstein 79, Hollywood 59
Bert Corona 45, Community Charter 43
Birmingham 73, El Camino Real 40
Canoga Park 64, Granada Hills Kennedy 60
Carson 50, Gardena 49
East College Prep 45, CALS Early College 40
East Valley 51, VAAS 35
Fairfax 60, LACES 43
Foshay 74, New West Charter 54
Garfield 53, LA Roosevelt 51
Granada Hills 58, Chatsworth 48
Hawkins 72, Dymally 42
Huntington Park 44, Bell 42
Lake Balboa College Prep 43, MSAR 42
Lakeview Charter 40, Valley Oaks CES 32
LA Jordan vs. Fremont, canceled
LA Marshall 53, Lincoln 34
LA Wilson 78, Bravo 57
Locke 53, Port of LA 32
Los Angeles 58, Santee 34
Marquez 75, Maywood CES 31
Mendez 87, Belmont 53
Middle College 72, Larchmont Charter 47
MSCP 103, Horace Mann UCLA 33
Northridge Academy 80, Fulton 54
Palisades 81, LA University 35
Rancho Dominguez 74, Wilmington Banning 44
San Fernando 93, Reseda 57
San Pedro 39, Narbonne 32
Simon Tech 59, Esperanza College Prep 41
SOCES 67, Vaughn 61
Sun Valley Magnet 73, Discovery 42
Sylmar 106, Panorama 34
Triumph Charter 69, CHAMPS 41
University Prep Value 69, Stern 43
Verdugo Hills 67, Chavez 26
View Park 65, Port of Los Angeles 32
Washington Prep 99, King/Drew 65
West Adams 46, Diego Rivera 35
Westchester 62, Hamilton 41
Westbrook 56, Alliance Ouchi 52
GIRLS
CITY SECTION
AMIT 43, Valor Academy 13
Angelou 36, Manual Arts 10
Bell 43, Huntington Park 15
Bernstein 41, Hollywood 27
Birmingham 81, El Camino Real 42
Bravo 40, LA Wilson 37
Brio College Prep 41, Legacy College Prep 31
Cleveland 66, Taft 43
Eagle Rock 28, Franklin 9
Esperanza College Prep d. Simon Tech, forfeit
Gardena 30, Carson 28
Granada Hills 63, Chatsworth 26
Granada Hills Kennedy 81, Canoga Park 9
Grant 48, Arleta 34
Harbor Teacher d. Locke, forfeit
Hawkins 63, Dymally 20
King/Drew 78, Washington Prep 29
LACES 51, Fairfax 20
Lakeview Charter 39, Valley Oaks CES 11
Larchmont Charter 49, Middle College 10
LA Marshall 59, Lincoln 12
Mendez 41, Belmont 10
MSAR 48, Lake Balboa College Prep 26
MSCP 52, Horace Mann UCLA 19
New West Charter 58, Foshay 13
North Hollywood 75, Monroe 10
Palisades 53, LA University 22
Panorama 45, Sylmar 29
RFK Community 64, Roybal 23
San Fernando 69, Reseda 17
San Pedro 45, Narbonne 35
Santee 77, Los Angeles 12
South East 56, South Gate 30
Stern 44, University Prep Value 13
Sun Valley Magnet 61, Discovery 11
Verdugo Hills 70, Chavez 16
West Adams 41, Diego Rivera 33
Westchester 62, LA Hamilton 40
Wilmington Banning 59, Rancho Dominguez 22
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SAN FRANCISCO – There might be nobody on the planet happier for Matthew Stafford than Puka Nacua.
The Los Angeles Rams quarterback, in his 17th NFL season, won his first MVP Award on Thursday night to all but cement what will likely be a Hall of Fame resume.
“I almost did a backflip,” Stafford’s star wide receiver Puka Nacua said to Fox News Digital on radio row.
Wide receiver Puka Nacua greets quarterback Matthew Stafford of the Los Angeles Rams before the game against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium on Dec. 7, 2025 in Glendale, Arizona. (Chris Coduto/Getty Images)
The extra celebration, though, came when Stafford officially committed to playing next season.
“I knew he was coming back. I knew it. I was waiting for him to say it at some point. And when he said it, I still wanted to do a backflip. It was the best,” he said.
“Nobody deserves it more than him playing at such a high level in this late stage of his career. And the photo of him and his family, that’s football heaven right there.”
Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford reacts after throwing a touchdown pass during an NFL football game against the New York Jets Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024, in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
CHRISTIAN MCCAFFREY REFLECTS ON 2025 SUCCESS AFTER INJURY-PLAGUED 2024 SEASON: ‘JUST THANK GOD’
Nacua would be a stud no matter who is throwing to him, but he definitely has Stafford to thank for his absurd numbers.
“I know I wouldn’t be standing in the place that I am with the opportunities I’ve had to chase records, to break records, to be at a high level and to be up there with the best of them. He’s been right there every step of the way, and I’m glad I get him for one more year.”
One more year? We’ll see.
Matthew Stafford and Puka Nacua of the Los Angeles Rams talk in the first quarter of a game against the Houston Texans at SoFi Stadium on Sept. 7, 2025, in Inglewood, California. (Harry How/Getty Images)
“I won’t put a timeline on his career, but if I can win another Super Bowl, hopefully he won’t hang it up after that.”
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