Rice dishes second triple-double in Trojans’ history

Rodney Rice hadn't played much point guard in two years at Maryland when, last spring, Eric Musselman offered him a chance to do just that at USC. The coach had already tried, with mixed results, to convert an off-ball guard into a natural point last season. But he was desperate to find a floor general to lead his Trojan offense. So Musselman took “a leap of faith,” entrusting things would be different with Rice.

- By Ryan KARTJE

MARK J. TERRILL Associated Press IN HIS NEW point guard role, Rodney Rice (1) had 21 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists on Friday night.

It didn’t look like much of a leap Friday, not as the Trojans’ new point guard rolled to just the second triple-double in school history, leading USC past Illinois State with an 87-67 victory at Intuit Dome.

Rice poured in 21 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, the last of which secured history in the waning seconds as teammates tried to purposefully put the point guard in position for one last pass. He found forward Ezra Ausar under the basket for a dunk — and with the bucket, joined Daniel Hackett in the record books as the only other Trojan to accomplish the feat.

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“Man, I've never even gotten a double-double before,” Rice said, with a smile. “So yeah, I was going for it. For sure.”