USC Defeats Northridge 95-79 in Home Opener
USC took the court in front of more than 4,000 fans as they hosted Cal State Northridge Tuesday night at the Galen Center. Led by center Omar Oraby the Trojans defeated the Matadors 95-79. USC scored its most points since 2008, which gave head coach Andy Enfield his first USC career win.
Oraby led the Trojans in scoring with 17 points and was one-point shy of his career high. Oraby added six rebounds and two blocks to his point total. Byron Wesley had 16 points and 11 rebounds, while Nikola Jovanovic posted up 11 points and five rebounds. USC went on a 18-8 run to end the half leading the Matadors 42-31.
Trailing by 11, the Matadors made a run cutting down the deficit to four. Matadors guard Josh Greene led all scorers with 19 points and four assists, while Stephen Maxwell scored 17 points and 12 rebounds.
Following the Matadors spurt the Trojans took over in the second half going on a 26-7 run and pushed their lead to 23.
The Trojans shot 57.1 percent from the field and 43.8 percent from the 3-point line. Cal State Northridge struggled offensively shooting under 34 percent. They shot 22.7 percent from behind the arc and 33.3 percent from the field. The Trojans also had great ball movement notching 24 assists in the game; Wesley had a game high with six assists.
Alongside Enfield's debut at the Galen Center USC basketball's new mascots also made their debut. Tommy and Traveler pumped up the crowd as the Trojans secured their first win of the season.
The Trojans improve to 1-1 on the season as they win the first of a four game home stance. USC will face Northern Arizona on November 15. The game will tip-off is at 8:00 p.m.
