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USC Overcomes First-Half Deficit To Beat Morgan State, 65-62

USC (2-3) battles UNLV Friday night in the opener of the Las Vegas Invitational.

Aaron Fuller scored 19 points to lead the USC Trojans to a 65-62 victory over the Morgan State Bears Tuesday night at Galen Center, snapping a three-game losing streak for the Trojans. USC overcame a 16-point first half deficit for their second win of the season.

The Trojans were down 31-15 with 4:37 remaining in the first half, the poor offensive performance from Saturday's 36-point effort against Cal Poly spilling over into Tuesday night. But USC was able to cut the lead to 36-28 by halftime, then opened the second half with a 19-4 run to build a lead.

Morgan State pulled ahead 60-59 with a pair of Aric Brooks free throws with 4:15 remaining, but the two teams went back and forth in the final four minutes. Maurice Jones hit a free throw with 1:57 left for a one-point lead, then hit a jumper with 38 seconds left to provide the final margin.

Both teams shot at least 50% on field goals, with Morgan State making 22 of 43 shots (51.2%) and the Trojans hitting 24 of their 48 shots (50.0%). USC was outrebounded 27-22, but Morgan State committed 22 turnovers in defeat.

The Trojans travel to Nevada for Thanksgiving weekend for the Las Vegas Invitational, beginning with a contest against UNLV on Friday night.

For more USC basketball news, be sure to read Conquest Chronicles.