Field Level Media
Feb 18, 2018
Elijah Stewart scored a season-high 28 points as USC pulled away late in the second half and recorded a 72-59 victory over Oregon State on Saturday at the Galen Center in Los Angeles.
Stewart helped USC (19-9, 10-5 Pac-12) win its first game since losing Bennie Boatwright to a season-ending knee injury Thursday by hitting his first eight shots and 9 of 10 overall.
Stewart, who entered the contest fourth on the team in scoring at 11 points per game, surpassed his season high of 23 set Dec. 8 against Oklahoma and came within two of his career high set Nov. 11, 2016 against Montana.
Chimezie Metu added 14 points as the Trojans completed their first sweep of the Oregon schools in 10 years. Jordan McLaughlin posted his fourth double-double of the season and seventh career with 13 points and 11 assists.
Tres Tinkle scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Oregon State (13-13, 5-9), which dropped its 21st straight road game and fell to 0-7 on the road in conference play. Drew Eubanks also scored 16, as he and Tinkle were a combined 14-of-25 from the floor.
The Beavers shot 47.1 percent but misfired on 12 of 15 3-point attempts. Second-leading scorer Stephen Thompson Jr. was held to seven points and missed all six 3-point attempts.
Stewart surpassed his previous season high with an alley-oop dunk with 9:56 left for a 50-46 lead. A little over a minute later, he picked up his fourth foul and sat, but USC built a 61-51 lead when he returned about five minutes later.
The Trojans took their first double-digit lead when McLaughlin connected with Metu for an alley-oop with 4:04 remaining. Tinkle's jumper snapped a drought of roughly five minutes without a basket for the Beavers, but McLaughlin hit two free throws with 83 seconds left for a 66-55 lead.
The Trojans held a 26-20 lead on two free throws by Metu with 5:08 remaining but settled for a 32-30 halftime lead after Tinkle's basket with 51 seconds remaining. The Beavers had a chance for the tie or halftime lead, but Stephen Thompson committed a turnover with one second remaining.
--Field Level Media