USC men’s basketball can’t keep pace with red-hot Saint Mary’s in Palm Desert
PALM DESERT — Jordan Ross scored 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting Thursday night to help Saint Mary’s beat USC 71-36 at the Acrisure Classic.
Saint Mary’s (7-0), which is off to its best start since the Gaels tied the program record with nine consecutive wins to open the 2013-14 season, plays Arizona State in the championship game on Friday. The Trojans take on New Mexico, which lost to the Sun Devils Thursday, in the consolation game.
Paulius Murauskas and Augustas Marciulionis scored 11 points apiece for the Gaels.
Jordan Coehn led USC (5-2) with 12 points.
Chibuzo Agbo scores 16 of his season-high 21 points in the second half and Josh Cohen scores 18 points in USC’s 80-69 win over Grambling.
Cohen scored in the lane to give USC a one-point lead with 7:32 to play in the first half but Ross hit a jumper 26 later to give the Gaels the lead for good and Ashton Hardaway hit a 3 before Cohen made a layup to make it 23-21 with 5:01 left. The Trojans went 0 for 4 from the field and committed two turnovers as Saint Mary’s closed the half with a 9-0 run to take an 11-point lead into the break.
Cohen scored inside to cut the deficit to single digits about a minute into the second half but Ross scored eight consecutive points for Saint Mary’s before Barrett made back-to-back baskets to cap a 12-2 run that made it 44-25 with 15 minutes to play.
The Gaels outscored USC 39-15 in the second half. The Trojans made just 4 of 23 (17%) from the field in after halftime.
Arizona State defeats New Mexico
Basheer Jihad scored 20 points, Joson Sanon added 19 and Arizona State blew a 13-point point lead before the Sun Devils beat New Mexico 85-82 Thursday night at the Acrisure Classic.
BJ Freeman scored 10 of his 16 points in the second half for Arizona State (6-1). Alston Mason made 4 of 4 from the free-throw line in the final 23 seconds and finished with 11 points.
Donovan Dent had a season-best 30 points and seven assists for New Mexico (5-2) and Mustapha Amzil scored a career-high 28 points. CJ Noland added 13 points.
Jihad hit a 3-pointer and, after a New Mexico turnover, Freeman made another 3 to give Arizona State a five-point lead with 1:25 to play.
Arizona State, which has won four games in a row since an 88-80 loss and then-No. 6 Gonzaga on Nov. 10, plays Saint Mary’s in the championship game on Friday. New Mexico takes on Southern California, which lost to the Gaels earlier Thursday, in the consolation game.
Sanon hit a 3-pointer that gave Arizona State a 13-point lead with 5:48 left in the first half. Noland answered with a 3 — New Mexico’s first made field goal in nearly-6 minutes — to spark a 19-3 run to close the first half as Arizona State went scoreless for the final 5-plus minutes.
Freeman made two pairs of free throws to cap an 11-2 run by Arizona State that made it 62-all with 7:53 to play — the first of seven ties and five lead changes down the stretch.
Sanon converted a three-point play to give the Sun Devils a 66-65 lead, their first of the second half, with 6:24 to play.
Go beyond the scoreboard
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