No. 21 USC routs Cal State Bakersfield 85-59 behind Isaiah Collier’s 19 points in home opener
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Isaiah Collier scored 19 points, Oziyah Sellers added a career-high 16 and No. 21 Southern California routed Cal State Bakersfield 85-59 on Thursday night in the Trojans’ home opener.
Coming off a 13-point win over Kansas State in Las Vegas earlier in the week, the Trojans had no trouble with the Roadrunners of the Big West.
USC (2-0) set the tone in the first half, shooting 59% from the floor, scoring 19 points off Bakersfield’s turnovers and leading 47-23 at the break.
The Roadrunners improved their shooting to 45% in the second half, but they never made a dent in their deficit that ballooned to 27 points.
DJ Rodman added 15 points and Joshua Morgan had 12 for the Trojans, who counted Chris Rock, Rodman’s soccer pro sister Trinity and USC student Natalia Bryant among the crowd.
Kaleb Higgins led the Roadrunners (1-1) with 19 points and Cameron Wilbon had 10.
Boogie Ellis was one of five Trojans in double figures, scoring 11 points on 4-of-11 shooting while missing 5 of 6 3-point attempts. He scored 24 points in the season-opening win.
BIG PICTURE
CS Bakersfield: The Roadrunners return top players Higgins (had season-ending knee injury in January) and Marvin McGhee III (started all 33 games last season). They added depth and experience via the transfer portal, bringing in six new players, including 6-foot-6 Fidelis Okereke from Cal State Northridge. They’ll need every bit of it with No. 11 Gonzaga waiting late this month.
USC: The Trojans rolled to their second consecutive double-digit victory and their full roster isn’t yet available. Bronny James, who suffered cardiac arrest in late July, has yet to be cleared to make his college debut. Vincent Iwuchukwu, a 7-foot-1 forward, had spinal surgery after last season and is expected back in the first half of this season.
UP NEXT
CS Bakersfield: Visits California on Monday in a second consecutive game against a Pac-12 opponent.
USC: Hosts UC Irvine on Tuesday in the second of three straight home games.
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