Chibuzo Agbo’s 23 points led four Southern California scorers in double figures, and the Trojans used a 21-6 run in the second half to put away visiting Cal State Northridge 90-69 on Wednesday in Los Angeles.
USC (8-4) went into halftime with some needed momentum after falling behind the Matadors. Mahmoud Fofana’s tip-in with 13 seconds before intermission gave CSUN a 39-37 lead, but Kevin Patton Jr. hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer off one of Desmond Claude’s nine assists.
Claude also scored 21 points.
USC then scored the first eight points of the second half and never trailed again. The Trojans finally got some breathing room Saint Thomas hit back-to-back 3-pointers — both set up by assists from Claude — to lead by 11 points with 12:14 to play.
The bombs by Thomas, who finished with 16 points, began the decisive USC run. The Trojans built a lead of as many as 25 points down the stretch to secure their third straight win.
Thomas shot 3-of-4 from 3-point range, along with Agbo’s 5-of-7 performance from beyond the arc. USC shot a blistering 12-of-19 from outside as a team. The Trojans also made 32-of-39 free throws to 16-of-19 for the Matadors.
USC’s Josh Cohen scored half of his 12 points at the foul line and grabbed six rebounds, one behind Thomas.
Keonte Jones finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, three blocks and two steals for CSUN (7-4).
PJ Fuller II scored another 17 points and shot 4-of-6 from 3-point range, while the rest of the Matadors went a combined 1-of-14 from long distance. CSUN doubled USC’s point production in the paint 36-18, but the disparity in outside shooting was too much to overcome.
–Field Level Media
