USC defeats Cal State Northridge, 66-59, in season opener

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Dewayne Dedmon had a successful debut for USC as the highly-touted sophomore forward finished with 16 points and eight rebounds to lead the Trojans to a 66-59 victory over Cal State Northridge in the season opener for both teams on Friday at the Galen Center.

Trojans Coach Kevin O’Neill has called the 7-foot Dedmon, who didn’t begin playing organized basketball until he was a senior in high school, a future NBA lottery draft pick.

Dedmon played only 25 minutes against the Matadors because of foul trouble and cramping in his legs, but his dunk with 3:17 left gave the Trojans a three-point lead that they would not relinquish.

Transfer Aaron Fuller had 16 points and nine rebounds in his USC debut while Maurice Jones added 16 points, making 12 of 15 free throws.

Jones made only two of 13 shots from the field, missing all seven of his three-point attempts. USC did not make a long-range shot in 15 tries.

Northridge trailed by eight points at halftime before pulling into a 54-52 lead with 4:13 left in the second half. Stephan Hicks led the Matadors with 19 points and eight rebounds, while Allan Guei and Vinnie McGhee each had 14 points.

--Dan Loumena

Wire services contributed to this report.