Advertising

Advertising

National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Southern California 82, Santa Clara 59
When: 10:00 PM ET, Thursday, December 14, 2017
Where: Galen Center, Los Angeles, California
Officials: # Verne Harris, # Kipp Kissinger, # David Hall
Attendance: 2712

Forwards Bennie Boatwright, Nick Rakocevic and Chimezie Metu all recorded double-doubles, and USC snapped a three-game losing streak with its 82-59 win over Santa Clara on Thursday at Galen Center in Los Angeles.

The Trojans (5-3), coming in after consecutive losses to Texas A&M, SMU and Oklahoma, rebounded strong -- in more ways than one.

USC held a 52-27 edge on the glass, taking advantage of a size disparity that coach Andy Enfield accentuated by starting the 6-foot-11 Rakocevic. Thursday was the first time Enfield used the three-forward starting lineup, coming one game after Rakocevic played a pivotal role in the Trojans' near-miss comeback effort Dec. 8 against Oklahoma.

Rakocevic scored in double-figures for a second consecutive game, putting up a career-high 16 points to go with his 10 rebounds. Metu scored 20 and grabbed 11 rebounds, and Boatwright had 11 rebounds to go with a game-high 21, bouncing back from some shooting woes during USC's losing skid. The forward shot below 40 percent in each of the Trojans' losses, but finished above 50 percent from behind the 3-point line (3 of 5) and 7 of 14 from the floor in total.

Guard Jordan McLaughlin made use of the three-big man lineup, slashing from the perimeter off the dribble and feeding his open teammates when help rotated. He finished with a season-high 10 assists.

Santa Clara (3-7) struggled to find a rhythm offensively, shooting just 31.7 percent from the floor. Forward Josip Vrankic scored 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead the Broncos. Guard K.J. Feagin, a native of nearby Long Beach, added 10 points.
Top Game Performances
 
Santa Clara   Southern California
Josip Vrankic 15 Scoring Bennie Boatwright 21
KJ Feagin 4 Assists Jordan McLaughlin 10
Josip Vrankic 8 Rebounds Bennie Boatwright 11
Josip Vrankic 4 Free Throws Made Bennie Boatwright 4
KJ Feagin 1 Steals Jordan McLaughlin 2
N/A Blocks Chimezie Metu 3
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Santa Clara 59 31.2 9-32 10-14 12 25 0 4 5
Southern California 82 49.2 6-16 16-21 21 50 10 2 10