USC
Loyola Marymnt
Trojans Lance Lions, 81-67
December 22, 2001 | Men's Basketball
Dec 23, 2001
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Sam Clancy bounced back after a sluggish first half, and reserve Robert Hutchinson provided Southern California with a much-needed spark Saturday night as the Trojans rallied to beat Loyola Marymount 81-67.
The Trojans (8-2) trailed 39-30 at halftime, and 49-34 before turning things around, outscoring the Lions 47-18 to finish the game.
Clancy scored 15 of his 19 points in the second half, and had 14 rebounds. While he was dominating the inside, Hutchinson was making his presence felt from the perimeter. The junior guard scored all 10 of his points in the second half - six on a pair of 3-pointers.
After the Lions made four of their first five shots of the second half to extend their lead to 15 points, the Trojans went on a 15-0 run to tie the game, fueled in part by the consecutive 3-pointers by Hutchinson.
Shortly thereafter, USC took control of the game for good. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Desmon Farmer and David Bluthenthal gave the Trojans a 67-56 lead, meaning they had outscored the Lions 33-7.
Greg Lakey, who began his college career at USC, led Loyola (6-5) with 14 points and nine rebounds.
It was the second time in a week that the Lions blew a large second-half lead against a nonconference opponent. Loyola led UNLV by 16 points at halftime on Dec. 15, but ultimately lost a 70-68 decision.
