Claude, Thomas help Southern California beat Montana State 89-63
LOS ANGELES (AP) —
Desmond Claude scored 19 points, Saint Thomas scored 13 of his season-high 17 points in the the first half and Southern California never trailed Sunday night as the Trojans beat Montana State 89-63.
Claude made 6 of 8 from the field and 7 of 8 from the free-throw line. Chibuzo Agbo finished with 12 points and Rashaun Agee scored 10 for USC.
Claude made a layup 17 seconds into the game and USC (7-4) led the rest of the way. Agbo followed with a 3-pointer and, after Brandon Walker's layup got Montana State on the scoreboard with 17:57 left in the first half, the Trojans scored 22 of the next 25 points to make it 27-5 when Saint Thomas hit a 3-pointer with 9:58 until halftime.
USC took a 47-21 lead into halftime and led by at least 20 throughout the second half.
Walker led Montana State (5-6) with 14 points on 5-of-11 shooting. The rest of the Bobcats combined to make 15 of 50 (30%) from the field. Jeremiah Davis made 8 of 8 from the free-throw line and scored nine of his 11 points in the second half.
Southern Cal made 32 of 63 (51%) from the field and outrebounded the Bobcats 49-27.