Trojans Too Much Inside As Long Beach State Falls At USC 87-76

Sunday, December 15

Los Angeles, Calif.

3:30 p.m.

Long Beach State University

3-8,0-0Big West

USC

9-2,0-0Pac-12

Long Beach St.

Southern California

Photo by: John Fajardo

Trojans Too Much Inside As Long Beach State Falls At USC 87-76

12/15/2019 7:02:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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Hunter leads four in double-figures with 18 in the loss.

By: Roger Kirk, Assistant Athletics Director, Athletic Communications

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Sophomore Chance Hunter led four starters in double-figures for Long Beach State with 18 points, but USC's star forward Onyeka Okongwu finished with 28 points and 12 rebounds to hold off the Beach 87-76 in the Galen Center Sunday.

                Freshman Max De Geest made his first start of the season on the road at USC (9-2) and gave the Beach an early lift, hitting two threes to put Long Beach State (3-8) in front in the early moments of the game.

                USC was hot early and stayed hot from outside, making 7-of-17 in the first half to help push the Trojans back in front. Back-to-back threes from Daniel Utomi made the score 17-10. Long Beach State cut the lead back to three at 24-21 on a jumper from Michael Carter III, but USC responded with a 14-4 run to open up a 14-point lead at 38-24.

                The Beach battled back, closing the half with jumper from Hunter to cut the lead to six at 40-34.

                The second half belonged to Okongwu however, who scored 24 of his 28 points in the second half and led the Trojans to a 42-26 edge on the paint in the night. Six early turnovers in a sloppy spell would help the big man get going, scoring 16 of the first 17 points of the half for USC.

                Long Beach State never left striking distance, however, as Hunter and De Geest led the Beach to a season-high 11 3-pointers made. A dunk from Joshua Morgan cut the lead to nine-points at 75-66, and a steal led to a wide-open three for Colin Slater, but the shot didn't go. An ensuing miss on the front end of a one-and-one opportunity from Jordan Roberts undermined the best swing of momentum in Long Beach State's favor, and USC held on for the 11-point victory.

                Roberts finished with eight points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals in his return to the lineup, while the remainder of the new-look starting five finished in double-figures. Hunter led the way with 18 points, while Slater finished with 15. Morgan added 11 with four blocks, while De Geest finished with three assists and 11 points in his first collegiate start.

                The Beach returns to the Walter Pyramid for two more home games this week. First, Long Beach State hosts Southern Utah on Thursday before welcoming Utah Valley to the 'mid on Saturday.