USC Hoops: Trojans Secure Second Win Over Montana Grizzlies
The USC Trojans played their second game of the season at The Galen Center tonight and came away with a victory over the Montana Grizzlies 76-62.
After a rusty debut against Cal Baptist on Wednesday night, the Trojans cleaned up some of their mistakes and came out with more chemistry to secure their second win of the season (2-0).
The Trojans repeated their starting lineup from Cal Baptist which included, Tahj Eaddy (Sr, G), Isaiah Mobley (So. F), Evan Mobley (Fr., F), Drew Peterson (Jr., G) and Ethan Anderson (So., G). The starters came out strong in the first half and jumped on the Grizzlies early, scoring the first few buckets of the night. With a 14-2 lead with 4:48 into the game, momentum appeared to be on USC's side. Going into the half USC finished with a 71.4 % shooting average vs. Montana 33.3%. This contributed to the Trojans strong lead over the Grizzlies of 44-25 at the end of the first half.
USC head coach Andy Enfield was proud of the Trojans performance early on in the game tonight.
“It was a good win for us. Montana is a quality team. We played really well in first half, there was a lot of fouling in second half and kind of slowed the game down. Glad to be 2-0.” “We did a great job of sharing the basketball in the first half.” (Enfield)
The second half of the game was "choppy" as Enfield mentioned in a post game presser. As the Trojans struggled with fouls and free throws.
“I thought we played hard, we just didn’t play great offensively. We missed a lot of easy shots and turnovers. Because of all the fouling, it was hard to get into an offensive rhythm. The second half was choppy, it was the nice flow we had in the first half.” (Enfield)
USC was 61.5% (24-for-39) for free throws tonight, which was an improvement from Wednesday night against Cal Baptist, as USC was 53.3% and 16-for-30.
[WATCH: USC Hoops Espaces Cal Baptist In Overtime In Season Opener]
Junior guard Drew Peterson said in a post game interview,
“We did well tonight. Opening night we had to go to overtime for a win. Tonight we handled it early well, got a nice lead and kept it throughout the game. We progressed on our free throws. We played well defensively and offensively, it was an efficient night.”
Despite a few challenges and bumps along the way, the Trojans were able to score 32 points in the second half to secure the win and go 2-0 on their season.
This young basketball team will look to secure their third win of the season against BYU at the Legends Classic in Uncasville, Conn. at the Mohegan Sun on Dec. 1 at 11:30 a.m. PT.
[WATCH: USC Hoops: Evan Mobley Displays Offensive Versatility In Debut]
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