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The highlight of Thanksgiving weekend among the local college basketball teams was the USC Trojans capturing third place in the 2011 Las Vegas Invitational basketball tournament. USC fell to host and eventual tourney winner UNLV 66-55 on Friday night, then won the battle of USC against South Carolina 63-60 on Saturday to secure third place.
Maurice Jones continues to shoulder the load for the Trojans (3-4), as he has played in 285 of a possible 290 minutes this season. Jones scored 28 points and hit seven three-pointers in Saturday's win over South Carolina.
Long Beach State has had a higher high than any of the area teams this season with their road win earlier this year against the Pittsburgh Panthers. But the 49ers stumbled on Saturday in Montana with a 73-71 loss. At 3-2, Long Beach State looks to get back on track Monday night at No. 7 Louisville.
The Pepperdine Waves (3-2) picked up a road win on Saturday in Texas against Texas-San Antonio. Center Corbin Moore hit a game-tying three-pointer, the first of his career, in the final seconds of regulation, then the Waves triumphed in overtime for a 70-64 win. Pepperdine is back in Los Angeles for a Monday night battle at the Sports Arena against the UCLA Bruins.
The Bruins (1-4) have yet to bet a Division I opponent this season, and look to get back on track after four days off. They went 1-2 last week at the Maui Invitational, beating host Chaminade and losing to both Kansas and Michigan.