Field Level Media
Dec 29, 2020
The Southern California men's basketball team, back in action for the first time in exactly three weeks, rolled to an 86-63 nonconference win over Santa Clara on Tuesday in Los Angeles.
Evan Mobley scored 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds for the Trojans (5-1), and Isaiah Mobley had 13 points and seven boards. Tahj Eaddy also produced 13 points, Chevez Goodwin put up 10 points, and Drew Peterson amassed seven points and nine assists.
USC had postponed or canceled four games since routing UC Irvine 91-56 on Dec. 8, as one confirmed case of COVID-19 shut down the program.
Santa Clara (6-2) got 13 points and six rebounds from Josip Vrankic, and Christian Carlyle also had 13 points. The Broncos won their first six games but have now dropped two in a row, as they lost 70-57 to Colorado State on Dec. 22.
Isaiah Mobley scored the game's first four points, and USC never trailed in the contest.
The score was tied 6-6 before the Trojans went on a 10-0 run that was capped by an Eaddy layup. USC led by as many as 18 points in the first half before taking a 41-27 edge into the locker room.
Neither team hit a 3-pointer before the break, but USC outshot Santa Clara 47.1 percent to 38.7 percent from the floor.
The Trojans poured in the first 10 points of the second half to open a 24-point advantage.
For the game, USC hit 46.6 percent of its field-goal attempts to the Broncos' 37.7 percent. The Trojans were 7 of 13 from 3-point range after halftime after missing their lone long-range effort in the first half. Santa Clara finished 2 of 17 from beyond the arc.
USC improved to 23-9 all-time against Santa Clara, though the Broncos had won the team's most recent meeting, 102-92 in double overtime on Dec. 18, 2018, at Santa Clara.
--Field Level Media