ANAHEIM, Calif. - Trey Pulliam scored 11 points, while Lamont Butler and Aguek Arop each had nine, but the No. 24 Southern California Trojans, were able to limit the San Diego State Aztecs to 32.1 percent shooting and defeated SDSU 58-43 in the championship game of the Paycom Wooden Legacy on Friday night.
Isaiah Mobley scored 18 points and had 12 rebounds, Drew Peterson added 16 points and Chevez Goodwin finished with 10 as the Trojans improved to 6-0. They held the Aztecs to just 15 points in the first half.
San Diego State (4-2) was held to its lowest-scoring opening half since 14 points against Air Force on Jan. 12, 2019.
The Aztecs had just one first-half assist on six made baskets, and seven total assists in the game. San Diego State also lost the rebounding battle, with USC pulling down 49 to SDSU's 33.
Both teams struggled to score before halftime, but the Trojans went on an 8-0 run in the final 5:29 to lead 22-15 at the break. San Diego State shot just 23.1% from the field in the first half, while USC was not much better at 33.3%.
USC started the second half on a 10-2 run to take a 32-17 lead with 15:56 remaining in the game. The Aztecs didn't reach the 20-point mark until a 3-pointer by Aguek Arop with 15:03 to play.
Boogie Ellis, who started the game leading USC in scoring at 17.0 points per game, was held to just two points on 1-of-6 shooting.
BIG PICTURE
San Diego State: A three-game winning streak against Top 25 teams came to an end for the Aztecs, who face Long Beach State at home Tuesday before a trip to Ann Arbor to face No. 20 Michigan on Dec. 4. . San Diego State had a 10-2 record in neutral-site games before losing Friday.
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