National Basketball Association
Southern California 73, West Alabama 57
When: 10:00 PM ET, Thursday, November 21, 2013
Where: Galen Center, Los Angeles, California
Officials:
# Deidre Carr, # Ryan McDaniel, # Deron White
Attendance:
2316
By SportsDirect Inc.
USC 73, West Alabama 57: Byron Wesley had 15 points and eight rebounds as the host Trojans breezed past the Division II Tigers in the opening round of the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament.
Nikola Jovanovic added 14 points as USC won its fourth straight. Omar Oraby chipped in with 13 points and also grabbed eight rebounds.
West Alabama was paced by Desmond Raymond with a game-high 18 points. The Tigers, who will play four Division I programs this season, also got 16 points from Sandy Underwood.
USC (4-1) never trailed and capped the first half on a 23-7 run to take a 45-25 lead into intermission. Underwood had 15 points at the half but the rest of the Tigers shot just 4-for-24 from the field.
West Alabama (1-2) knocked down eight shots from behind the arc in the second half and consecutive 3-pointers by Jarell Byrd and Raymond helped close the gap to 62-54 with 5:42 to play. But a dunk by Julian Jacobs halted the run and Jovanovic put the game away with a 3-pointer of his own, giving the Trojans a 71-55 lead with 2:35 left.
GAME NOTEBOOK: USC senior guard J.T. Terrell was ruled academically ineligible for the rest of the fall semester. ...USC is off to a 4-1 start for the first time since going 6-1 in 2008. ...The tournament resumes in the Bahamas on Nov. 28.
Top Game Performances
West Alabama |
|
Southern California |
Desmond Raymond 18 |
Scoring |
Byron Wesley 15 |
Jarell Byrd 3 |
Assists |
Pe'Shon Howard 6 |
Mychael Bester 8 |
Rebounds |
Omar Oraby 8 |
Desmond Raymond 3 |
Free Throws Made |
Omar Oraby 3 |
Desmond Raymond 3 |
Steals |
Julian Jacobs 2 |
Mychael Bester 1 |
Blocks |
Omar Oraby 4 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
West Alabama |
57 |
30.9 |
11-29 |
4-7 |
14 |
32 |
4 |
8 |
11 |
Southern California
|
73 |
45.0 |
8-17 |
11-15 |
17 |
47 |
9 |
5 |
16 |