UC Riverside
USC
Highlanders Lose to Trojans, 81-48
11/30/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The USC Trojans defeated the visiting UC Riverside Highlanders, 81-48, in a non-conference game in front of 1,741 fans at the Sports Arena in Los Angeles Wednesday.
The Highlanders fell to 0-4 on the season, while the Trojans improved to 3-2.
Lodrick Stewart led the Trojans with 23 points and Nick Young had 21 points, as the Trojans hit 57.6% from the field on 34-of-59 shooting. The Highlanders were led by senior forward David Misko, who had nine points. Sophomore guard Larry Cunningham and freshman Joey Knox each had eight points. UCR shot 33.3% (20-of-60) from the field and were 3-of-17 (17.6%) from the three point line.
The Highlanders went away from the running offense and pressing defense against the Trojans, who boast a strong backcourt. Instead, the Highlanders worked in a zone defense and pressed off of made baskets. The Trojans, who obviously expected a running game were surprised early on, but began to have success as they worked the ball around to open spots on the floor.
The teams were tied at 10-10 with 13:42 remaining, but USC took over, putting together a 30-4 run at one point to build the lead to 40-14 with 3:21 remaining. UCR went nearly seven-and-a-half minutes without scoring, finally getting back on the board on a layup by Misko with 3:04 remaining. The Highlanders were 8-of-26 (30.8%) from the field and 2-of-10 from the three-point line. The Trojans were 17-of-26 (65.4%) in the half, led by Lodrick Stewart's 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting.
The second half saw the Trojans outscore the Highlanders, 37-27.
