Desmond Claude and Saint Thomas lead USC to blowout win over Montana State
Desmond Claude scored 19 points, Saint Thomas scored 13 of his season-high 17 points in the the first half and USC never trailed Sunday night as the Trojans beat Montana State 89-63.
Claude made six of eight from the field and seven of eight from the free-throw line. Chibuzo Agbo finished with 12 points and Rashaun Agee scored 10 for USC.
Claude made a layup 17 seconds into the game and USC (7-4) led the rest of the way. Agbo followed with a three-pointer and, after Brandon Walker’s layup got Montana State on the scoreboard with 17:57 left in the first half, the Trojans scored 22 of the next 25 points to make it 27-5 when Saint Thomas hit a three-pointer with 9:58 until halftime.
Sophomore guard JuJu Watkins and graduate forward Kiki Iriafen scored in double digits for the 11th time, leading the Trojans with 26 and 18 points.
USC took a 47-21 lead into halftime and led by at least 20 throughout the second half.
Walker led Montana State (5-6) with 14 points on five-of-11 shooting. The rest of the Bobcats combined to make 15 of 50 (30%) from the field. Jeremiah Davis made eight of eight from the free-throw line and scored nine of his 11 points in the second half.
USC made 32 of 63 (51%) from the field and outrebounded the Bobcats 49-27.
Go beyond the scoreboard
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