Trojans Remain Perfect at Home, Defeat Boston College 78-62

The USC Trojans rode the balanced effort from five players scoring in double figures to defeat the Boston College Eagles 78-62, preserving their perfect home record at 5-0 on the year.

Freshman guard Julian Jacobs led USC (6-3) in scoring with a career-high 16 points. He got plenty of help from his freshmen counterparts Nikola Jovanovic (15) and Roschon Prince (14) to break free from a 32-32 halftime stalemate.

USC was able to pull away in the second half thanks to aggressive play on the defensive end of the floor along with a faster style of play on the court propelled by the free-flowing freshman.

"With any freshman you're gonna have ups and downs," said Andy Enfield. "But they gave great effort today and it helped us win the game."

After going back and forth for much of the first half, the Trojans came out firing to start the second half thanks to a three pointer from leading scorer Byron Wesley, who finished the night in double figures as well.

We also saw the return of #DunkCity in the final minute as USC sparked three fast-break slam dunks by forcing crucial turnovers in the Eagles' passing lanes.

"I thought it was terrific," Enfield said of his team's second-half defense. "We challenged the three-point shot and we had a lot of deflections, which helped fuel our transition game."

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS

NOTES AND QUOTES

-USC out-rebounded Boston College 44-27 and has won the rebound battle in seven of nine games this season.

-USC entered the game with the worst free throw shooting percentage in the Pac-12 while Boston College (3-6) was the best team in the country, yet USC shot better from the line (78.3% compared 60.0%) than the Eagles.

-USC has now scored 73 points or more six times this season, matching its entire total from last season.

-With Sunday's home victory, USC surpassed its win total from the entire non-conference slate from last season.

"We knew it'd be a tough game. They're better than their record. We knew the first half wasn't one of our better halves, so we just had to stay positive." ---Senior PG Pe'Shon Howard

Andy Enfield, on USC’s 6 consecutive water polo championships: "We just want to win 6 games in a row."

— Rich Hammond (@RegisterUSC) December 9, 2013