The Trojans come back from 12 down to move to 2-1 on the season and stay undefeated at home.
Click here for the recap and final stats.
Lord Byron
While the Trojans came out sluggish in the first half falling behind by 10 at the break, Byron Wesley remained the most consistent force. He finished the night with a career-high 31 points to go along with 9 rebounds, and he did not commit a turnover. "I couldn't take Byron out of the game," said head coach Andy Enfield, who played the junior 36 minutes. "He's expanding his game. I give Byron a lot of credit. He spent a lot of time in the offseason by himself and he's improved. He's leading by example."
D.J. on D
In a tight game down the stretch, Enfield was subbing backup center D.J. Haley in for Omar Oraby on defensive possessions. The head coach was rewarded when Haley showed outstanding perimeter quickness to force a Northern Arizona miss in the final seconds, and then he finished the possession with a rebound leading to the victory sealing free throw. "He loves to play defense," said Enfield about Haley. "He just wills himself to it. He's seven-feet, 250-something pounds, and he just decides to get in a stance and guard people, and I love that. It means so much to our team."
Second Half Energy
While the Trojans had several problems tonight, including giving up 18 offensive rebounds, the root issue was first half intensity. USC simply came out flat. "I thought our players showed in the second half they actually wanted to win the game. In the first half, I wasn't so sure," said Enfield. "I think we proved to ourselves when you give effort, we can be a pretty good basketball team." In the second half, USC held NAU to 25% shooting and just 23 points. So, what did the coach say at halftime that made the difference? "I can't repeat what I said because you don't want to print that."
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Line Up
USC could have had a much easier night if not for 17 missed free throws (19/36). "They need to make a couple hundred before they go to sleep tonight, so we'll see what time they get to bed," said Enfield. "We might have to order breakfast in the Galen Center."
Here are the SnappyTV highlights:
University Southern California Trojans
Tuesday, August 04
Monday, August 03
Monday, August 03
Saturday, August 01
