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National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Southern California 84, Akron 53
When: 7:30 PM ET, Friday, December 22, 2017
Where: Stan Sheriff Center, Honolulu, Hawaii
Officials: # Darron George, # Tommy Short, # Bart Lennox
Attendance: 10300

HONOLULU -- Elijah Stewart scored 20 points and Chimezie Metu added 16 as Southern California pulled away to an 84-53 victory over Akron in a first-round game in the Diamond Head Classic on Friday at the Stan Sheriff Center.

The Trojans (7-4), who had lost four of six after opening 4-0, will face Middle Tennessee, a 69-67 winner over Princeton, in Saturday's first semifinal.

Jordan McLaughlin made a pair of free throws with 16:16 left to give USC its first lead of the game at 40-38, and the Trojans punished two Akron turnovers with a pair of 3-pointers from Stewart, the second after a deft fake to produce an open look at the top of the key.

Jonah Mathews (13 points), back from a one-game injury absence (ankle), ran off eight straight points on two 3-pointers and a layup to put the Trojans comfortably ahead at 54-40 with 12:23. USC finished the game with a 30-13 run.

Committed to finding 3-point looks against USC's 2-3 zone, Akron (6-3) hit four of its first 10 attempts from long range in building an advantage that reached 21-15 on Jimond Ivey's layup with 7:20 left in the first half.

Two free throws from Metu and a three-point play from Nick Rakocevic made it 21-20, but the Zips closed the half on a 12-9 run to lead 33-29, aided by a Flagrant 2 foul and consequent ejection of Trojans forward Bennie Boatwright, who knocked Akron guard Virshon Cotton to the floor with 1:20 left.

Daniel Utomi had 11 first-half points to stake the Zips to the four-point lead. Rakocevic scored eight for USC, and Metu, saddled with two early fouls, contributed seven points in seven first-half minutes.

McLaughlin, fourth in Division I assists at 8.1 per game entering the tournament, had two at the break but finished with six.
Top Game Performances
 
Akron   Southern California
Jaden Sayles 12 Scoring Elijah Stewart 20
Jimond Ivey 6 Assists Jordan McLaughlin 6
Jimond Ivey 8 Rebounds Nick Rakocevic 9
Eric Parrish 3 Free Throws Made Elijah Stewart 5
Eric Parrish 1 Steals Elijah Stewart 2
Jaden Sayles 1 Blocks Bennie Boatwright 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Akron 53 32.0 7-28 14-19 12 22 1 3 16
Southern California 84 49.1 10-23 20-27 13 37 3 5 11