The USC Trojans have just a few days before a massive showdown against Auburn, and Andy Enfield’s team wants to take advantage of an opportunity to get a signature victory.
Wednesday night was their final tune-up before facing Bruce Pearl’s squad, and the Trojans showed up with a 88-78 victory against Long Beach State at the Galen Center.
USC put up 43 points in the first half and finished with 88 on the game, well over the team average of 69.9 points per game coming into the contest.
Reese Dixon-Waters and Tre White both finished with 20 points each and combined to show 17-26 from the field. Drew Peterson chipped in 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Kobe Johnson added 14 points and seven boards.
The big question coming out of this game is if Long Beach State’s lack of defensive resistance made USC look better, or if the Trojans actually improved on offense and made themselves a noticeably better team in time for the Auburn game, which is a crucial moment for USC this season. The Trojans badly need a signature nonconference win to boost their portfolio before they get into the heart of Pac-12 competition.
PLAY 1: @Drewpeterson23 swishes a 3 off the curl
PLAY 2: Reese Dixon-Waters puts his defender in the spin cycle
PLAY 3: Joshua Morgan’s block leads to a @TreWhite19 dunk on the other end pic.twitter.com/6DbhJfN918
— USC Men’s Basketball (@USC_Hoops) December 15, 2022
Boogie Ellis once again struggled shooting from the field, finishing with 11 points on 3-13, including 3-9 shooting beyond the arc.
Both White and Dixon-Waters set career highs on the evening, which is an encouraging sign for a Trojan team desperate for some scoring. This is their first time scoring more than 70 points since November 23 against BYU, and they will need their offense to show up against a tough Auburn team.
Aboubacar Traore was excellent for Long Beach State, finishing with 16 points and 16 rebounds as he gave USC fits. Nonetheless, the Trojans got the win and have now won four straight heading into the game against Auburn, which begins just after 2:30 p.m. in Los Angeles on Sunday, Dec. 18.
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