Field Level Media
Nov 25, 2018
USC used a 16-2 run late in the second half Sunday to pull away from Cal State Bakersfield and score a 90-75 non-conference win at Galen Center in Los Angeles.
Five players scored in double figures for the Trojans (4-2), led by Jordan Usher off the bench with 22 points and nine rebounds. Bennie Boatwright delivered 19 points, eight rebounds and four assists, while Shaqquan Aaron scored 18 points. Jonah Mathews added 13 points, and Nick Rakocevic chipped in 11.
Damiyne Durham came off the bench to hit six 3-pointers on his way to 22 points for the Roadrunners (3-3). Greg Lee netted 12 to go along with seven rebounds, and Rickey Holden hit added 10 points.
USC trailed 68-67 with 7:55 left after Bakersfield's Kevin McNeal dunked. Then the Trojans sped away from the Roadrunners.
Elijah Weaver hit a 3-pointer with 6:26 remaining to put the Trojans ahead for good, and Boatwright's trey at the 2:33 mark capped the run and made it 83-70.
USC shot 55.8 percent for the game, including 10-of-22 from the 3-point line, and clamped down on the Roadrunners after allowing them to outgun them for 32 minutes.
Bakersfield managed just seven points after McNeal's dunk, hitting only 30.3 percent from the field in the second half.
Both teams shot well in a high-scoring first half.
Cal State Bakersfield connected on 53.3 percent of its field goal attempts and also made 6-of-9 from 3-point range, thanks largely to Durham hitting 4-of-6. USC sank 56 percent from the floor and also marched to the line 17 times, making 12.
The Roadrunners established a 13-8 lead when Derrin Person converted a layup with 14:37 left in the first half. Then the Trojans went on a 17-3 run, taking a 25-16 advantage on Rakocevic's layup at the 10:50 mark.
However, Bakersfield regained the lead as Durham drilled a 3-pointer with 5:31 remaining to make it 34-32. Another Durham trey, this one with 38 seconds left, sent the Roadrunners to the locker room ahead 46-44.
--Field Level Media