Chibuzo Agbo (21 points) made a career-high seven 3s as USC (14-10, 6-7) beat Penn State (13-12, 3-11) 92-67 at the Galen Center on Tuesday, ending the Trojan’s two-game skid.
Desmond Claude had 16 points (eight assists and eight turnovers) in his return while Josh Cohen (12 points) and Wesley Yates III (13 points) combined for 25 points.
Penn State was led by Ace Baldwin Jr.’s 15 points (four assists and three steals). Dominick Stewart scored a season-high 13 points (5-of-9) as D’Marco Dunn and Zach Hicks both scored 10.
Overall, Penn State shot 43% from the field and 27% from 3. USC shot 67% from the field and 75% from deep.
Penn State lost its sixth straight game and remains winless on the road in the Big Ten.
First-Half Moment: After a choppy start that saw both teams combined for nine turnovers in the first three minutes, USC was able to break a 15-15 tie using a 16-1 run to build a 15-point lead by the under-eight media timeout. However, Penn State outscored USC 15-9 to close the half, with Baldwin Jr. (eight first-half points) and Dunn (seven first-half points) scoring nine of the final 15 for the Nittany Lions.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Second-Half Moment: After making 56% of its first-half shots, USC started the second half with 12 consecutive makes. Agbo shot a perfect 6-for-6 on his 3s and scored 18 of his 21 points in the second. The Trojans used a 16-5 run to increase their lead to 19 by the 11:56 mark. Penn State never got within 15 points.
Deciding Factor: USC shot 79.2% in the second half and made 12 of its 16 total 3-pointers.
Penn State will return home to State College for a two-game homestand, beginning against Washington on Saturday. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. inside the Bryce Jordan Center and will air on the Big Ten Network.
A previous version of this article wrongly stated that USC made 13 consecutive field goals when it was 12 in the second half.
