Jacob Cofie had a double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds as host Southern California led wire-to-wire in a 94-64 win over Cal Poly in Los Angeles on Monday in the season opener for both teams.
Rodney Rice and Ezra Ausar added 21 points apiece for USC, which led by six at the half before ramping up its defense after the break. Chad Baker-Mazara had 12 points and seven rebounds, and Jaden Brownell chipped in 10 points off the bench.
Cal Poly was held to 33.3% shooting from the field and 27.3% (9 of 33) from 3-point range.
USC moved ahead 57-45 with 12:29 left in the second half and never relinquished its double-digit lead.
The Trojans connected on 46% of their shots from the field. USC shot 34.6% (9 of 26) from 3-point range and 67.5% (27 of 40) from the foul line.
Ali Assran had 13 points and eight rebounds for Cal Poly, which was picked to finish seventh in the Big West preseason poll. Hamad Mousa and Peter Bandelj scored 12 points apiece, and Cayden Ward had 11.
USC has retooled its team with 13 newcomers after finishing 17-18 last season, including 7-13 in the Big Ten.
Baker-Mazara, one of the 10 transfers on the USC roster, hit a 3-pointer to start the scoring as USC opened the game with a 13-2 run. Baker-Mazara transferred to USC after helping Auburn reach the Final Four last season.
Rice made two free throws to put the Trojans ahead 30-19 with 6:10 left in the half before Cal Poly responded with an 8-3 run.
Jake Davis scored on a layup at the buzzer to end the first half and cut the deficit to 37-31.
Cal Poly was 19th in the nation in scoring last season at 82.1 points per game, but the Mustangs struggled to keep pace with the Trojans in the second half.
Cofie capped a 13-0 run with a pair of free throws to put the Trojans ahead 77-53 with 6:55 left in the game.
–Field Level Media
