In a game that came down to the final seconds, Colorado fell short against No. 16 Southern Cal, 61-58, on Thursday night, ending a seven-game win streak vs. the Trojans that dated back to February of 2018.

The Buffs’ final three possessions of consequence all came up empty.

Trailing, 57-56, with 1:15 to play, Jabari Walker missed a go-ahead layup, while about 50 seconds later, as CU was still trailing by just a basket, Keeshawn Barthelemy attempted an underhanded layup that failed to hit the rim.

With only 15 seconds to play, and trailing, 59-56, following a free throw by USC’s Max Agbonkpolo, Colorado got one final shot to tie the game, but a turnover by Walker in the paint all but sealed the deal.

Barthelemy managed to hit a floater with under one second left in the game but it mattered little and the Trojans escaped Boulder with a win.

"It's frustrating," Tad Boyle said. "...Finishing at the rim, finishing plays on offense is something that we have struggled with. We obviously struggled with it tonight, finishing. It's not just one guy, it's multiple guys."

With three previous failed attempts to get a win against a ranked team so far this season, Thursday evening’s showdown in Boulder vs. the Trojans represented one of the few remaining chances for CU (12-5, 4-3 Pac-12) to do so before the Pac-12 Conference Tournament.

Following Thursday’s loss, Colorado now looks ahead to Saturday’s game against No. 9 UCLA for another crack at a ranked team.

The Buffaloes played far from a clean first half, with USC’s utter domination on the glass (23-13 edge by halftime) sticking out in particular, but for as well as the Trojans were rebounding, it wasn’t translating into a surplus of offense.

The rebounding woes would continue for Colorado throughout the night. By the time of the final buzzer, USC had posted a 47-32 advantage on the glass.

An awful night of rebounding and shooting, 16 total turnovers, countless missed layups — Thursday's game had all the ingredients of an easy win for USC, yet the Buffs managed to hang around for the entirety of things.

"I don't know how we were in the game, quite frankly," Boyle said. "That's a testament to our guys' competitiveness and grit. But it wasn't enough to overcome the ineptitude offensively and just the 18 offensive rebounds."

Chevez Goodwin in particular made his presence known on the glass, snagging an impressive 18 rebounds to go along with his 14 points.

Boyle assumed responsibility for the Buffs' botched final few possessions, but when it came to the aforementioned massacre on the glass, he did not hesitate to pin it on his players.

"When you need to get a good shot, that's on the coach," he said. "I'll take the blame for that. I will not take the blame for getting out-rebounded by 15. That's on the players."

"(I'm) not going to take the blame for Chevez Goodwin being the only Trojan in the lane late, reaching down and picking up a ball with three Buffs around him and nobody dives on a loose ball — not going to take the blame for that."

The Buffs (6-of-20) and Trojans (9-of-30) both shot exactly 30% from the floor in the first half; USC’s make rate by game’s end improved to about 37% while Colorado’s read 31% (16-of-51).

Three Buffaloes scored in the double digits, with Walker contributing 13 and Evan Battey and Tristan da Silva adding 10 apiece, but collectively, they shot 9-of-27 on the night.

Battey and Walker tied for the team lead with eight rebounds each.

While USC did lead by as much as seven down the stretch of the first half, the score was tied, 25-25, after 20 minutes of play.

The Trojans went up, 43-37, near the midway point of the second half, but an emphatic dunk by Nique Clifford got the Buffs and fans fired up by the under-12 media timeout.

Clifford’s dunk sparked a 10-0 run by CU that saw them take a 47-43 lead with 8:15 to play.

Luke O’Brien and Clifford hit key three-pointers, with Clifford logging an assist on O’Brien’s made basket before sinking one of his own on Colorado’s ensuing offensive possession.

Da Silva hit a three-pointer of his own with 6:41 to go, giving CU a five-point lead, but by the 5:05 mark, the Buffs and Trojans were tied at 50.

From there, both teams traded free throws and baskets, staying neck and neck, but a Boogie Ellis basket with 1:39 remaining gave USC a slim lead that it would not relinquish.

Clifford, making his first career start Thursday in place of the injured Eli Parquet, was impactful, with his seven rebounds leading CU for the vast majority of the night.

Parquet was sporting a medical boot on his right foot, watching the game from CU's bench, and Boyle said postgame that he did not have an update on his status moving forward.

At no point during the game did things get out of hand for Colorado, despite the Buffs' best effort to shoot themselves in the foot.

"Points in the paint was 38-12 (in favor of USC), we had 16 turnovers and there's no hidden answer," Battey said. "It's right there. We have to do a better job and that starts with me."

Colorado next faces No. 9 UCLA at home on Saturday, Jan. 22. Tipoff is at 7 p.m. MST from the CU Events Center.