A 35-6 run powered Southern California to a 33-point halftime lead, and the Trojans cruised to a season-opening rout of Cal State Northridge, 89-49 on Tuesday night in Los Angeles.
Southern California exhibited no hangover from its Elite Eight NCAA Tournament run last season, for which the Trojans received commemorative rings before tipoff on Tuesday. Isaiah Mobley connected on a 3-point attempt 12 seconds in, and USC led for the rest of the way.
Cal State Northridge pulled to 17-13 with 13:21 to go in the first half when Darius Brown II hit the first of his two 3-pointers on the night. Boogie Ellis responded with a 3-pointer on the other end, igniting a 7-0 run.
The Matadors’ next basket with 9:54 remaining in the half was their last for nearly six minutes.
USC ripped off the next 19 points and blew the game open.
Ellis, a transfer from Memphis, shot a blistering 9-of-11 from the floor in his Trojans debut and finished with a game-high 20 points. He added two steals to contribute to a lockdown defensive effort.
USC held Cal State Northridge to 19-of-58 shooting from the floor, including 4-of-17 from 3-point range. The Trojans converted 14 Matadors turnovers into 20 points.
While Cal State Northridge struggled to shoot, USC was red-hot. The Trojans hovered around 60 percent shooting from the floor for much of the night before finishing 36-of-64 for 56.3 percent.
USC’s field-goal percentage was a byproduct of its aggressive attacking of the rim, which resulted in 52 points in the paint. Cal State Northridge scored just 20 on the interior.
Drew Peterson shot 7-of-10 from the floor for Southern California en route to 14 points. Mobley finished with 15 points and nine rebounds, while Chevez Goodwin added eight points and seven rebounds.
Brown and Atin Wright led Cal State Northridge with 10 points apiece. Brown also grabbed a team-high six rebounds.
–Field Level Media
