National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Southern California 72, Drexel 70
When: 12:00 PM ET, Friday, November 21, 2014
Where: TD Arena, Charleston, South Carolina
Officials: # John Gaffney, # John Higgings, # Mark Whitehead
Attendance: N/A

USC 72, Drexel 70:
Darion Clark scored 15 points and the Trojans overcame a huge afternoon from Damion Lee to stun the Dragons in the consolation bracket of the Charleston Classic.

Julian Jacobs scored 12 points off the bench and freshman Jordan McLaughlin added 11 points and eight assists for the Trojans (2-2), who will face Penn State for fifth place Sunday. Strahinja Gavrilovic had 10 points off the bench while Clark pulled down seven rebounds.

Lee went 8-of-11 from 3-point range and 10-of-16 overall en route to 32 points for Drexel (0-4). Rodney Williams added 14 points and Tavon Allen collected 10 points and eight assists while feeding Lee.

Drexel’s lead reached 14 points in the opening minute of the second half before USC began a 23-8 run, taking its first lead when McLaughlin stole the ball and found Nikola Jovanovic for a dunk and a 51-50 edge just in front of the midway point of the period. The Trojans held a 69-63 edge with 1:36 left before Lee’s 3-pointer closed the gap to 71-70, but Lee’s desperation attempt in the final seconds was off the mark.

The Dragons came in as one of the worst shooting teams in the nation at 31.4 percent but were on fire at the start, scoring on each of their first nine possessions to jump to a 19-6 lead. The Trojans crept back within 29-26 before Lee exploded with 11 points, including three 3-pointers in the final 2:13, to send Drexel into the half up 40-28.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Drexel will take on Cornell for seventh place Sunday. … The Dragons, who failed to reach 50 points in any of their first three games, hit that mark on Lee’s layup with just under 12 minutes left. … USC forced 21 turnovers to help overcome a 33-22 disadvantage on the glass.
Top Game Performances
 
Southern California   Drexel
Darion Clark 15 Scoring Damion Lee 32
Jordan McLaughlin 8 Assists Tavon Allen 8
Darion Clark 7 Rebounds Mohamed Bah 8
Jordan McLaughlin 3 Free Throws Made Tavon Allen 5
Jordan McLaughlin 4 Steals Damion Lee 2
Julian Jacobs 1 Blocks Rodney Williams 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Southern California 72 49.2 4-12 10-18 14 22 3 9 9
Drexel 70 52.3 9-16 15-19 17 27 4 4 21