Drew Peterson Leads USC Men's Basketball To 96-58 Rout Over Alabama State
LOS ANGELES — Drew Peterson had an all-around game with 21 points, six rebounds and six assists as USC men's basketball avenged its opening-night loss by beating Alabama State, 96-58, at Galen Center on Thursday night.
The Trojans (1-1, 0-0 Pac-12) won by their largest margin of victory since the 2021-22 season opener when USC defeated CSUN by 40 points.
Boogie Ellis added 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting with a career-high seven steals, four rebounds and four assists. Reese Dixon-Waters (13 points), Joshua Morgan (11) and Malik Thomas (10) were the other three Trojans who finished with double-digit point totals. Tre White finished with six points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
.@BoogieEllis has a new career-high with 6 steals after this beauty!
📺: @Pac12Network
📱: https://t.co/ora0PXu4rO pic.twitter.com/D7QXJA4iJg— USC Men's Basketball (@USC_Hoops) November 11, 2022
USC briefly allowed Alabama State (0-2, 0-0 SWAC) to take a 8-7 lead at the 15:06 mark in the first half, but the Trojans immediately went on a 10-0 run that helped them build a comfortable margin for the rest of the game.
The Trojans ended the first half on a 14-0 run that was capped off by White's buzzer-beater near the halfcourt logo.
.@TreWhite19 from nearly half-court!
📺: @Pac12Network
📱: https://t.co/ora0PXu4rO pic.twitter.com/D0ZFQaRqYr— USC Men's Basketball (@USC_Hoops) November 11, 2022
USC continued to cruise past Alabama State for the entire second half, building a lead as large as 46 points with 3:31 remaining in the game. The Trojans scored 43 points in both halves.
USC shot an effective 55.4 percent from the field and hit 11 of 23 3-point attempts. The Trojans held the Hornets to just 33.3 percent shooting.
The Trojans remain on the road next week, hosting Vermont on Tuesday and Mount St. Mary's on Nov. 15 before competing in the Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis the following week.