Sunday, November 24
Los Angeles, Calif.
4:00 p.m.
USC
5-1,0-0Big Ten
80
vs
69
Grambling
1-4,0-0SWAC
1
2
F
Grambling
38
31
69
Southern California
37
43
80
Team Stats
GSU
USC
FG%
.455
.500
3FG%
.318
.333
FT%
.857
.697
RB
31
32
TO
12
13
STL
9
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
21
FGM
6
3FGM
4
FTM
5
Pts
18
FGM
7
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ Men's BasketballGuard
/ Men's BasketballForward
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Photo by: Drake Lee
USC Men’s Basketball Downs Grambling State 80-69
November 24, 2024 | Men's Basketball
A strong second-half carries the Trojans to victory over the visiting Tigers.
LOS ANGELES - After a slow first half, the USC men's basketball team bounced back and defeated the Grambling State Tigers 80-69 on Sunday afternoon at the Galen Center.
USC kept things close in the first half after starting their sixth variation of a starting lineup this season. They entered halftime down one, despite a strong half from graduate forward Josh Cohen. Cohen led the game in both points (16) and rebounds (5) during the first 20 minutes. Defensively, the Trojans struggled to contain the Tigers, with Grambling State outshooting USC 58 to 48 percent, respectively, from the floor and 83 to 61 percent from the free-throw line.
The Trojans flipped the script in the second half. A 21-4 run midway through the second half gave the Trojans a twelve-point advantage over the Tigers, who were unable to find an answer. In his first game coming off the bench, junior guard Desmond Claude scored 14 points in the second half. His late-game steal and lay-up capped off a 12-3 run for USC and sealed the win.
"As a team we are growing and tonight is a good win," Cohen said. "That team is going to win their conference. I give them a ton of credit, they played hard and we just have to keep moving."
USC's bench put in another strong performance, outscoring Grambling State's bench 41-14. The bench was led by graduate forward Chibuzo Agbo who had another stellar game and led USC with 21 points. Graduate guard Clark Slajchert also had a breakout game, logging a season high 16 minutes and bringing some much-needed energy to the floor.
"Clark was great from an energy standpoint," head coach Eric Musselman said. "If I had to pick one play that happened from a momentum standpoint, it was his steal. He is an offensive threat. His shots will eventually fall too."
With the victory, the Trojans wrap up a six-game home stand and now hit the road for the Acrisure Classic in Palm Springs later this week. They will face off against St. Mary's in their first game on Thursday, November 28 at 6 p.m. PT.
USC kept things close in the first half after starting their sixth variation of a starting lineup this season. They entered halftime down one, despite a strong half from graduate forward Josh Cohen. Cohen led the game in both points (16) and rebounds (5) during the first 20 minutes. Defensively, the Trojans struggled to contain the Tigers, with Grambling State outshooting USC 58 to 48 percent, respectively, from the floor and 83 to 61 percent from the free-throw line.
The Trojans flipped the script in the second half. A 21-4 run midway through the second half gave the Trojans a twelve-point advantage over the Tigers, who were unable to find an answer. In his first game coming off the bench, junior guard Desmond Claude scored 14 points in the second half. His late-game steal and lay-up capped off a 12-3 run for USC and sealed the win.
"As a team we are growing and tonight is a good win," Cohen said. "That team is going to win their conference. I give them a ton of credit, they played hard and we just have to keep moving."
USC's bench put in another strong performance, outscoring Grambling State's bench 41-14. The bench was led by graduate forward Chibuzo Agbo who had another stellar game and led USC with 21 points. Graduate guard Clark Slajchert also had a breakout game, logging a season high 16 minutes and bringing some much-needed energy to the floor.
"Clark was great from an energy standpoint," head coach Eric Musselman said. "If I had to pick one play that happened from a momentum standpoint, it was his steal. He is an offensive threat. His shots will eventually fall too."
With the victory, the Trojans wrap up a six-game home stand and now hit the road for the Acrisure Classic in Palm Springs later this week. They will face off against St. Mary's in their first game on Thursday, November 28 at 6 p.m. PT.
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