No. 16 USC moves to 10-0 with win over Long Beach State

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Isaiah Mobley had 21 points and 12 rebounds, and No. 16 Southern California pulled away at the beginning of the second half on its way to a 73-62 victory over Long Beach State on Sunday.

The Trojans (10-0) continued their best start since the 2016-17 season, when they opened 14-0. Drew Peterson added 15 points and Max Agbonkpolo had 11 points for USC, and Mobley had his fourth double-double in five games.

Joel Murray led the Beach (3-7) with 14 points. Colin Slater added 12 points and Romelle Mansel had 10 points, including three dunks in the second half, and seven rebounds.

USC opened the second half on a 14-0 run, with six points from Mobley and five by Chevez Goodwin, to take a 52-38 lead.

Long Beach State missed its first six shots of that half before Slater hit a jumper. Mobley then dunked off Peterson’s assist, and Agbonkpolo tossed in consecutive 3-pointers that stretched USC’s lead to 13 points.

The Beach followed with back-to-back baskets by Slater, including a 3-pointer, to make it 62-54. But Peterson answered with USC's ninth 3-pointer of the game, and the Beach were effectively done.

Long Beach State finished at 38% shooting, keeping intact USC's streak of holding every opponent this season to under 40%.

Neither team led by more than seven points in the first half. Peterson hit a 3-pointer that beat the halftime buzzer for a 38-all tie.

BIG PICTURE

Long Beach State: The Beach fell to 0-2 against ranked teams, having lost to then-No. 2 UCLA 100-79 in their second game of the season.

USC: The Trojans have two big neutral-court games coming up against Georgia Tech and Oklahoma State before resuming Pac-12 play on Dec. 30.

UP NEXT

Long Beach State: Hosts La Sierra on Saturday in its last home game until Jan. 8.

USC: Hosts UC Irvine on Wednesday to wrap a three-game homestand.

___

More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25