National Basketball Association
Southern California 95, Stetson 59
When: 10:00 PM ET, Wednesday, November 14, 2018
Where: Galen Center, Los Angeles, California
Officials:
Attendance:
1533
By Field Level Media
Junior forward Nick Rakocevic scored 16 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, while senior forward Benny Boatwright scored 16 points in his season debut, as USC took control early and cruised to a 95-59 nonconference victory over visiting Stetson.
It was the third double-double in three games for Rakocevic, who has five consecutive double-doubles going back to last season. Boatwright was returning from offseason knee surgery.
Freshman guard Kevin Porter Jr. added 12 points for the Trojans (2-1), giving him double digits in points in his first three college games. Senior guard Shaqquan Aaron added 10 points for USC.
Sophomore guard Christiaan Jones had 11 points and seven rebounds off the bench for Stetson (1-2), while sophomore forward Abayomi Iyiola added eight points and eight rebounds.
The Hatters shot just 9-of-34 (26.5 percent) from the field in the first half and 24-of-77 (31.2 percent) for the game.
Twelve players scored points for the Hatters, but nobody reached double digits until Jones made a layup with 1:51 remaining.
USC had a 46-38 rebounding advantage in the game, but Stetson held its own with offensive rebounds, holding a 16-10 advantage over the Trojans.
Stetson was just 4-of-22 (18.2 percent) from 3-point range, and just 1-of-9 in the second half. USC was 36-of-64 (56.3) from the field in the game and 21-of-36 (58.3 percent) in the second half to close out the victory.
USC was playing without sophomore forward Charles O'Bannon, who had surgery Tuesday to repair a broken left pinky finger. O'Bannon suffered the injury in practice and is expected to miss a month.
Stetson was making its first trip to the West Coast in 20 years and played in California for the first time since playing at Stanford in 1995.
USC will hit the road for the first time Monday, playing at Kansas City in the first round of the NABC Hall of Fame Classic against Texas Tech.
Stetson has five more nonconference games in November in advance of a matchup at Duke, currently the top-ranked team in the nation, on Dec. 1.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| Stetson |
|
Southern California |
|
Christiaan Jones 11 |
Scoring |
Bennie Boatwright 16 |
|
Raine McKeython 4 |
Assists |
Kevin Porter Jr. 3 |
|
Abayomi Iyiola 8 |
Rebounds |
Nick Rakocevic 12 |
|
Kenny Aninye 2 |
Free Throws Made |
Nick Rakocevic 4 |
|
Keith Matthews 2 |
Steals |
Shaqquan Aaron 2 |
|
Leo Goodman 1 |
Blocks |
Nick Rakocevic 3 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Stetson
|
59 |
31.2 |
4-22 |
7-11 |
12 |
35 |
2 |
7 |
11 |
| Southern California
|
95 |
56.2 |
7-23 |
16-20 |
19 |
42 |
5 |
6 |
13 |
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