USC Comes Back To Beat Morgan State 65-62
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Kevin O'Neill wasn't particularly pleased with what he saw from Southern California in the first half, but his youthful squad found a way to please their coach down the stretch.
Maurice Jones hit the go-ahead free throw with 1:57 remaining and Aaron Fuller had a key steal late to help USC beat Morgan State 65-62 on Tuesday night.
Fuller scored a season-high 19 points and Jones added 18 points as the Trojans (2-3) snapped a three-game losing streak.
"We've got to come out better. We eased into the game," said O'Neill, whose team trailed by 16 in the first half. "We fought back hard. It's a win."
With the game tied, Jones split a pair of free throws for a 63-62 USC lead. Jones later hit a short runner with 35 seconds left for the three-point cushion.
Coming out of a timeout, Morgan State (0-4) was struggling to get into its offense when Larry Bastfield threw an errant pass into traffic that was intercepted by Fuller. The Trojans played keep-away and the Bears were unable to intentionally foul before the final horn sounded.
All five of the Trojans' games this season have been decided by seven points or less.
"Our defense keeps us in games, and our offense keeps us out of games," O'Neill said.
Ameer Ali scored 17 points and Kevin Thompson added 15 for the Bears.
"We just have to be more disciplined," Morgan State coach Todd Bozeman said. "Small stuff, like taking care of the basketball at the end of the game and not taking rushed shots. That's something (they players) learn."
USC was coming off an embarrassing 42-36 home loss to Cal Poly in its last outing in which the Trojans scored their fewest points since 1967.
The Trojans were only eight points shy of that total by halftime and roared out of the gate in the second half to assert control. USC scored the first nine points of the second half, turning a 36-28 deficit into a 37-36 advantage.
Jones cued the 9-0 run with a jumper. Dewayne Dedmon had a dunk, and Greg Allen stole the ball at half court and finished a layup while being fouled. Dedmon cleaned up Byron Wesley's missed shot with another dunk for the Trojans' first lead of the game at 37-36.
"We've got to understand the urgency of playing hard, full throttle every play," O'Neill said. "We'll get to that, just not yet."
After Aric Brook's pair of free throws put the Bears back ahead 60-59, Fuller was fouled while making a layup. His free throw made it 62-60 in favor of USC.
Ian Chiles evened it at 62-62 with a dunk at the 3:26 mark, but that would stand as the Bears' final points.
The Trojans entered holding opponents to 31.2 percent shooting, yet they won despite allowing the Bears to hit 51.2 percent from the field.
"You talk to anyone in the country and they'll tell you USC plays defense," Bozeman said.
Allen scored 14 points in his first extensive action of the season for the Trojans. Allen, a junior transfer in his first year with the team, displayed his deft outside shooting touch by hitting 3 of 5 from 3-point range.
Allen had logged a total of seven minutes in the previous four games. He played 35 minutes in this one.
"I was just waiting for my opportunity," Allen said. "This gave me a lot of confidence. I just need to get more minutes and get in my flow."
Thompson came into the game needing six rebounds to reach 1,000 for his Morgan State career and achieved that mark during the first half. He ranked fourth in the nation with 11.9 rebounds per game last season and finished with 11 against USC on Tuesday.
Thompson was dominant in the first half, going 6 of 8 from the floor for 15 points, but he was held scoreless while attempting just one shot in the second half.
Morgan St. jumped out to a double-digit lead in the opening five minutes of the game. Blake Bozeman's 3-pointer made it 15-3 as USC went without a field goal for over four minutes.
The Bears stretched the advantage to as many as 16 points on a layup from Ali with 4:37 left before halftime. The Trojans then used a 10-2 run to close the gap back to single digits.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
