Gonzaga men’s basketball’s season-opening charity exhibition game against USC won’t go down in the official record books, though regardless of the stakes at han

After Pepperdine transfer Michael Ajayi knotted things up at 89-89 when he knocked down a 3-pointer from the left corner, Battle had a chance to put the Zags in front roughly a minute later, but his 3 ricocheted off the rim and USC’s Desmond Claude made a jumper on the other end to extend the Trojans’ lead to four points.

Gonzaga University men’s basketball lost its exhibition game against the USC Trojans, falling 96-93 in Saturday’s preseason matchup in Palm Desert, California.