Men's Basketball Falls At Southern California, 88-54

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LOS ANGELES – Senior forward Erik Thomas scored 20 points with eight field goals and a perfect 4-of-4 performance from the free throw line, but Southern California countered with a balanced, efficient attack as the University of New Orleans men's basketball team dropped an 88-54 decision to the host Trojans on Tuesday evening at the Galen Center.

UNO (1-3) hung tough early on and trailed by one at 12-11 just over five minutes into the contest before USC (4-0) scored 15 unanswered to take control of the game. The Trojans entered the game hitting just 38.0 percent of their field goals and 25.7 percent of their 3-pointers, but enjoyed a breakout performance against the Privateers with a .492 overall clip (31-of-63) and a .440 showing from downtown (11-of-25).

"They were 26 percent from three coming into tonight's game, and we caught the wrong end of that tonight," head coach Mark Slessinger said. "Part of that was a little bit of the coverages we did. Schematically, we probably should have gone over the top of some of those ball screens and done a couple of other things. They had guys, statistically that have not made shots all year and a good bit of last year, that made shots, that made shots and that's frustrating for our team. Over the course of the game, that was probably the difference."

Thomas was one of two Privateers to post double-figure scoring totals as senior guard Tevin Broyles added a season-best 11 points. Thomas also led New Orleans with two steals while sharing the rebounding lead with junior forward Travin Thibodeaux at seven each to go with three assists and a blocked shot. Senior guard Christavious Gill paced the Privateers with five assists while junior forward Makur Puou headlined the UNO defense with a pair of blocked shots.

As a team, New Orleans hit 22-of-64 field goals (.344) and 3-of-11 of its 3-point tries (.273) while going 7-of-8 from the free throw line (.875). Despite playing against a longer, taller USC lineup, the Privateers were outrebounded by just two boards (40-38), but the Trojans turned 13 offensive caroms into 20 second-chance points while scoring 26 points off 19 UNO turnovers.

"He had a balanced night," Slessinger said of Thomas' performance. "I wish he could have found some scenes earlier and quicker to get in and get some of the looks that he needed. We had some good stretches, but the bad stretches were bad in that we couldn't ever get a break, get a stop and get a basket to counteract.

"There were some bright spots in this game. We've been on a long road trip and we knew these were going to expose some cracks in what we were doing and what we were trying to fix as a team. We've made some improvements and some good adjustments. It just wasn't enough on Saturday night or tonight, unfortunately."

The two teams traded the first eight points of the ballgame before USC used an 8-4 run to go by four 4:48 into the ballgame. A 3-pointer by junior guard Jorge Rosa cut the deficit to one before the Privateers went without a point over the next six-plus minutes. During that stretch, the Trojans went 6-of-9 from the field, including a pair of 3-pointers and a free throw, to take a 27-11 advantage.

A Thomas basket ended the UNO drought but, while the Privateers connected on five of their next nine shots, Southern Cal continued to build on its lead and held a 19-point edge at 42-23 to set up another Thomas bucket to make it 42-25 at halftime.

It was more of the same in the second half as a Thomas layup cut the deficit to 15 before the Trojans went on a 20-5 run to take a commanding 61-34 lead. USC continued to stretch its lead as the game progressed and were up by as many as 35 at 88-53 with 1:02 left to play and allowed just a free throw by Rosa the rest of the way to account for the final score.

"We know that this is a long run for us," Slessinger added. "We're building more for our tournament and for our league. I've been in this league for a long time and you can't win the [conference] tournament and go on to the NCAA Tournament if you don't play games that get you better. You've got to go on the road and put your guys in these kinds of environments. That's what we're doing.

"We know that in the long run – into February and March – this game will pay off. The tough game at Washington State, the tough game at Utah State and the tough game at Northwestern are all going to pay off. It'll make us better over the long haul. We've got two huge ones at home coming up in Florida College and our friends from uptown (Tulane). We know we have to be locked in and try and sweep two at home."

Five USC players finished in double figures offensively as Elijah Stewart scored a game-high 21, followed by Jonah Matthews with 13, Shaqquan Aaron with 12, Jordan McLaughlin with 11 and De'Anthony Melton with 10. McLaughlin fell one assist shy of a double-double with nine dimes while Chimezie Metu led the Trojans with seven rebounds. Melton and Stewart paced the USC defense with five steals and two blocks, respectively.

The Privateers return to action on Friday, Nov. 25, when they play host to Florida College at 7 p.m. in Lakefront Arena. For tickets to that game, and future Privateer Athletics events, contact the UNO Athletics Ticket Office over the phone at (504) 280-GAME (4263) or via the Internet by clicking HERE.