National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Southern California 53, Cal St. Fullerton 49
When: 11:00 PM ET, Tuesday, November 25, 2014
Where: Galen Center, Los Angeles, California
Officials: # Mike Reed, # Kurt Walker, # Darryl White
Attendance: 2297

USC 53, Cal State Fullerton 49: Nikola Jovanovic and Darion Clark posted double-doubles and the host Trojans fended off a furious comeback to beat the Titans for the fifth straight time.

Jovanovic scored 13 points and grabbed 11 rebounds while Clark pulled down a career-high 14 boards and scored 10 points as USC (3-3) hung on for the win despite blowing a 14-point second-half lead. Katin Reinhardt finished with nine points while Jordan McLaughlin had all four of his points in a crucial span.

Lanerryl Johnson paced Cal State Fullerton (1-3) with 21 points including four 3-pointers in the second half. Moses Morgan added 10 points for the Titans, who missed their final three shots after closing the gap to 50-49 with 1:56 to play.

Clark's layup gave USC an 18-17 lead late in the first half and the Trojans never trailed again. USC took a 24-19 advantage into the break and after Reinhardt nailed a 3-pointer at the 16:31 mark, USC had its first double-digit lead 31-21.

The Titans later went on a 13-3 run to narrow the gap to 44-42 before McLaughlin hit his only two field goals. Jovanovic missed a free throw with 18 seconds to play but Johnson missed a potential game-tying layup and Julian Jacobs' dunk sealed the game with four seconds to play.

GAME NOTEBOOK: USC played without freshman C Malik Martin, who suffered a knee injury last week. ...Morgan entered the game with 11 3-pointers on the season but went 1-for-7 from behind the arc against the Trojans. ...Alex Harris scored just two points after netting 20 last time out for the Titans.
Top Game Performances
 
Cal St. Fullerton   Southern California
Lanerryl Johnson 21 Scoring Nikola Jovanovic 13
Joe Boyd 1 Assists Darion Clark 3
Joe Boyd 8 Rebounds Darion Clark 14
Josh Gentry 2 Free Throws Made Strahinja Gavrilovic 1
Sheldon Blackwell 1 Steals Malik Marquetti 3
Kennedy Esume 2 Blocks Nikola Jovanovic 4
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Cal St. Fullerton 49 32.1 7-20 6-9 6 36 2 4 17
Southern California 53 39.0 3-14 4-14 10 40 8 7 13