Chibuzo Agbo scored a game-high 18 points as Southern California extended its winning streak to four games while coasting to an 82-51 victory against Southern on Sunday at Los Angeles.
Josh Cohen scored 17 points while connecting on 9-of-10 free-throw attempts, Desmond Claude added 13 points and Wesley Yates III chipped in 11 for the Trojans (9-4).
Dionjahe Thomas, Jordan Johnson and DaMariee Jones all scored 10 points for Southern (5-7).
It was an Agbo wing 3-pointer that gave USC an 11-2 lead. Thomas’ put-back slam cut the USC lead to 12-4 for the Jaguars first basket in over four minutes. The Trojans pushed the early advantage to 19-4 on a layup by Rashaun Agee.
Southern entered the game with the second most bench points in the nation at 44.1 per game yet was held to 19 against USC. The Trojans held a 20-4 edge in fastbreak points.
The visitors rallied with a 7-0 run that started when Jones tipped in his own missed layup. A Thomas free throw capped the rally and brought the Jaguars within 28-17, the closest they would get the rest of the game.
An Andre Nunley steal and contested lay in cut the USC lead to 39-27 with 24 seconds remaining in the opening half, but Claude spun into a baby hook shot at the first-half buzzer as the Trojans went up 41-27 at halftime.
To open the second half, Cohen went on his own 7-1 run as he hit five free throws and muscled through a foul for a put-back basket as USC stretched its lead to 48-29 with 18:17 remaining.
With 10:10 left in the game, a Jones layup punctuated a 9-0 Southern run, as the Trojans’ lead dipped to 59-40. But USC answered with an 8-0 scoring binge that Yates capped with a layup. The Trojans held a lead of at least 20 points the rest of the game.
-Field Level Media
