The USC Trojans scored 53 points in the second half to pull away from Howard, concluding their non-conference schedule with an 82-60 win Sunday afternoon at the Galen Center.
Byron Wesley led the Trojans (9-4) with 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting. He scored 14 in the second half, including eight straight early in the period that helped push a six-point halftime lead to double digits over the Bison (3-13). Wesley also grabbed eight rebounds, dished out two assists, nabbed two steals and had one block.
In the first half, the star of the show was J.T. Terrell, who saw his first significant minutes since returning to the team last week following an academic ineligibility. He scored 12 points in the first 20 minutes, making five of his seven shots. Terrell finished with 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting, three rebounds, an assist and two blocks.
But USC head coach Andy Enfield was most impressed with Terrell's shot selection:
"He's worked hard on it. He's not just taking long threes early in the shot clock or in transition. He's driving the ball to the basket. He's actually passing the ball extremely well."
"If he can give us that kind of play in the Pac-12, he can be very effective for us."
USC pulled away in the second half thanks to tremendous shooting. The Trojans came out with more energy, got the basket for easy buckets and knocked down open jumpers in route to shooting 60 percent (68 percent before Enfield emptied the bench with just over two minutes remaining and USC leading by 29).
Nikola Jovanovic tied his career-high with 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting while Pe'Shon Howard dished out a season-high nine assists and Omar Oraby tied his season high with 10 rebounds.
All 10 Howard players that participated scored. Prince Okoroh and Solomon Mangham leading the Bison with 11 points each.
USC isn't back in action until next Sunday when it travels to Pauley Pavilion to open Pac-12 play against crosstown rival UCLA. The game is slated to start at noon PT and will be televised by FoxSports1. Howard's next contest is Jan 4 at 4 p.m. ET against the College of Charleston.