Long Beach St. Beach vs Southern California Trojans Box Score on Dec 12, 2021

No. 16-ranked USC broke a halftime stalemate by scoring the first 14 points of the second half, and the Trojans rode the lead to a 73-62 win Sunday over Long Beach State in Los Angeles.

The Trojans (10-0) went into intermission tied at 38 after giving up 51.7 percent shooting from the floor to the 49ers, including 50 percent from 3-point range.

USC entered Sunday's matchup ranked third in the nation with a 34.9 percent field-goal yield, and was ranked 32nd in holding opponents to 27.8 percent shooting from beyond the 3-point line.

Joel Murray led Long Beach State (3-7) with 12 first-half points before USC locked him down in the second half. He did not score after the break until hitting a jumper with 4:55 remaining and finished with 14 points.

Colin Slater picked up the slack with nine of his 12 points after halftime, helping to keep the 49ers competitive after USC's big run to open the half.

Slater scored five quick points just before the penultimate media timeout, pulling the 49ers to within eight points. They came no closer the rest of the way.

USC held Long Beach State to 8-of-31 shooting in the second half and 1-of-10 from 3-point range. The Trojans' Isaiah Mobley scored 14 of his game-high 21 points in the second half.

Mobley also recorded his second consecutive double-double and fourth in the past five games with 12 rebounds. Teammate Drew Peterson scored 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the floor, including 3-of-3 from beyond the arc.

USC's Boogie Ellis struggled to score for a second straight game. After going scoreless on 0-of-10 shooting in Tuesday's win over Eastern Kentucky, he was stuck on five points until the final two minutes Sunday.

He knocked down a 3-pointer that pushed the lead to 13 points and effectively snuffed any hope of a Long Beach State comeback.

Chevez Goodwin scored nine points and grabbed seven rebounds for USC, while Max Agbonkpolo added 11 points off the bench.

--Field Level Media