Southern California scored the game’s first 14 points and led throughout in a 64–50 defeat of Cal State Fullerton on Wednesday night, Dec. 7, in Los Angeles.
The Trojans (7–3) held the visiting Titans more than five minutes without a point to open the game, and built a lead of as many as 17 points midway through the first half.
Cal State Fullerton (4–5) had more turnovers (12) than made field goals (eight) at intermission and finished the game with only two more field goals than turnovers committed (19–17). USC converted the Titans’ 17 giveaways into 22 points.
Each of the Trojans’ double-figure scorers for the night—Tre White with 16 points and Kobe Johnson with 14—came away with multiple steals; White with two and Johnson with three. Johnson also dished a game-high five assists and grabbed five rebounds.
Reese Dixon-Waters added two steals of his own to contribute to the overwhelming defensive performance. He added nine points.
Drew Peterson scored nine points and grabbed a game-high-matching eight rebounds. Boogie Ellis endured an uncharacteristic 2–of–11 shooting night from the floor and finished with just five points.
Despite the big, initial deficit and shooting just 19–for–58 from the floor for the game, Cal State Fullerton clawed its way back to within a single-digit margin by halftime. Latrell Wrightsell Jr. connected on 3 of 7 3-point attempts and led all scorers with 17 points to help the Titans rally a bit.
He was the only Cal State Fullerton scorer in double figures, however, and the Titans’ offensive struggles proved too much to overcome. USC’s lead swelled to 23 points in the second half before Cal State Fullerton sliced the deficit to 11 points in the final minute—well after the final outcome was no longer in question.
The win was USC’s third straight since dropping its final two games at the Thanksgiving weekend Battle 4 Atlantis. Wednesday’s loss marked the fourth straight for Cal State Fullerton.
