The Lobos lost 66-54 in front of a season-high 14,404 fans.
"That was a tough one; that was probably the worst one since I've been here in eight years," said second-year head coach Craig Neal. "But give (USC) credit, they made plays and we didn't make plays. We did everything that we thought we could do."
The Lobos struggled to shoot from the floor, particularly in the second half, when they shot a season-low 20 percent (5-25) and just 7.1 percent from beyond the 3-point line.
UNM (3-3) had just two field goals in the final 7:39, the first coming off of a dunk by sophomore center Obij Aget and the second not until 1:17, when junior college transfer Tim Jacobs scored a layup, cutting USC's lead to 10 points.
Sophomore guard Cullen Neal missed his third-straight game due to an ankle injury, while junior guard Arthur Edwards did not dress after a hand injury received against Texas A&M in the ESPN Puerto Rico Tip-Off.
Freshman forward Jordan 
Goodman also did not play because of concussion symptoms he sustained last week during practice. Goodman will not play in Wednesday's game against NMSU due to concussion protocol of sitting out 10 days after being diagnosed.
With these players not suiting up, Neal was forced to play some of his freshmen and sophomores throughout the game – something that his team didn't seem to be ready for.
"I just think they have to learn to play at this level," he said. "This isn't where you're going to come in here and put your uniform on like a high school game."
Neal said that even though the team is going through some injuries, they will not use this as an excuse going forward.
"There's no excuses here," he said. "I'm not going to make up excuses; I don't have any excuses, I just have to get my team to 
play better."
Jacobs saw early minutes and played backup to senior guard Hugh Greenwood during the game. It was his first dose of significant minutes this season.
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"He did exactly what I wanted him to do," Neal said of Jacobs. "He did some good things, he plays hard, he's not going to get you in trouble and he guards and tries to do the right thing."
Jacobs finished with two points (1-3 FG), two assists and one rebound.
Redshirt sophomore guard 
Devon Williams seemed to be the only player to find an early groove in Sunday's loss against the Trojans (4-3). He finished with 15 points (5-11 FG, 4-6 FT) and 10 rebounds. It was the first double-double of his career.
Greenwood struggled from the floor, shooting 0-11 and 0-9 from 3-point range. He finished with zero points, two assists and two turnovers.
The Lobos will host in-state rival New Mexico State on Wednesday at The Pit.
Kyle Tomasi is a sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @KyTo22.
