USC basketball: Trojans taking it to the Oregon State, lead 37-23 at halftime

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

The Trojans had eight days off between its last game, a loss to UCLA, and Thursday night’s game against Oregon State at the Galen Center.

But instead of looking fresh, USC sleepwalked through most of the first half before waking up.

And did it ever.

At halftime, the Trojans lead, 37-23, behind 12 points from junior forward Nikola Vucevic.

USC trailed for most of the first half, down 7-2 shortly after tipoff, but then the Trojans started forcing turnovers and attacking the basket, and, boom, a 12-0 run gave them an 18-11 lead with 8:41 left.

USC led 26-17 after Vucevic converted a three-point play with 5:17 left. Then freshman forward Garrett Jackson nailed a three-point shot from the left wing to give the Trojans a 12-point lead with 4:46 left.

Vucevic added a three-pointer with a few seconds left before halftime.

So, basically, from the point Oregon State led 11-6 with 15:23 in the first half, USC turned the game around, closing the half on a 31-12 run.

USC is shooting 13 for 29 (44.8%) from the field and four of nine (44.4%) from three-point range.

Oregon State, which is led by seven points from freshman guard Ahmad Starks, is shooting eight for 25 (32%) and has missed six of seven three-point shots.

The Beavers have 11 turnovers, which USC has turned into 16 points.

-- Baxter Holmes