College basketball: UCLA leads USC, 37-19, at halftime
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After one half, UCLA is dominating USC, 37-19, on the Trojans’ home floor at the Galen Center.
The Bruins led by as many as 21 points, but USC guard Maurice Jones made a three-point shot that beat the halftime buzzer to make it an 18-point game.
UCLA is shooting a sizzling 64%, having made 16 of its 25 shots.
Guard Lazeric Jones leads the Bruins with a game-high 11 points. Maurice Jones has five to lead USC.
The game started with ugly play from both teams, befitting their seasons and, really, the entire Pac-12 Conference.
USC jumped out to a 6-2 lead ... but UCLA responded with a slow-but-steady 22-4 run that spanned more than 10 minutes to go ahead 24-10 with 4:30 left.
Considering USC’s offensive troubles, it will be hard for the Trojans to climb back into this.
UCLA, with its imposing frontline, has controlled the glass with a 21-7 rebounding edge, not allowing USC to get any second-chance shots after misses.
USC has made only seven of its 24 shots. UCLA also has a 20-10 advantage in points in the paint. UCLA center Joshua Smith picked up two fouls in the first half, as did USC center Dewayne Dedmon.
Neither have made much of an impact: Smith has five points and two rebounds, Dedmon three and three.
In a rare occurance, the Galen Center is more than half full for a men’s basketball game.
In fact, it’s not too far off from reaching its 10,258-seat capacity, which has only happened four times since it opened in 2006.
The last time the Galen Center saw a sellout was the USC-UCLA game last season, so it’s no surprise that it’s nearly as full with these teams meeting again.
More later at latimes.com/sports.
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