Southern California Trojans vs Missouri St. Bears Match Player Stats On Nov 20, 2018

Bennie Boatwright poured in 22 points off the bench on 7-of-9 shooting, and Jonah Mathews scored 21 points as Southern California overwhelmed Missouri State 99-80 on Tuesday in the consolation game of the NABC Hall of Fame Classic at Kansas City, Mo.

The Trojans (3-2) used a 16-0 run midway through the first half to pull away from Missouri State after the Bears led by as many as six points in the early minutes. USC shot 61 percent in the second half, including a 9-of-18 showing from 3-pointer range, to dispel any notion of a comeback from the Bears.

Kevin Porter Jr. added 14 points for USC, with Derryck Thornton and Nick Rakocevic scoring 12 and 10 points, respectively.

Ryan Kreklow led the Bears with 23 points, with Keandre Cook adding 21 and Jarred Dixon tallying 17 for Missouri State (3-2). The Bears took their second consecutive loss after beginning the season with three wins.

It took a while for the Trojans to get rolling, with Missouri State leading through the game's first 4 1/2 minutes before USC jumped to the front 13-11 on a 3-pointer by Weaver with 14:50 left in the first half. The Trojans then burst away from an 18-17 lead by scoring the game's next 16 points over a five-minute span of the middle of the half to take a 34-17 advantage.

The Trojans expanded their lead to 42-22 on a fastbreak layup by Matthews with 2:18 to play in the half and before settling for a 44-27 cushion at intermission.

USC outshot Missouri State handily from the floor, 56.9 percent to 40.3 percent. The Trojans hit 17 of 33 3-points attempts while the Bears were 14 of 32 from long distance.

The Trojans return to the court on Sunday when they host Cal State Bakersfield. Missouri State heads to Murray State for a contest on Saturday.

--Field Level Media