USC
Pennsylvania
Trojans Defeated By Penn, 99-61
January 11, 2003 | Men's Basketball
By BETH HARRIS
AP Sports Writer
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Koko Archibong had 21 points and 11 rebounds in his homecoming game and Pennsylvania shot 87 percent in the first half to beat Southern California 99-61 Saturday night.
The Quakers (5-4) won outside Philadelphia for the first time this season after losing at Delaware, Providence and Colorado. They improved to 2-3 on the road.
Archibong, a Pasadena native, had his own cheering section at the Forum, the arena he most wanted to play in during his career. He had the game to match the famed venue, getting a large contingent of Penn fans on their feet with dunks, 3-pointers and a variety of inside moves.
At one point, shouts of "Let's go, Quakers" rang out in the former home of the Los Angeles Lakers. USC fans began filing out with 7? minutes to go and the Trojans behind by 28 points.
Ugonna Onyekwe, Penn's leading scorer and rebounder, came off the bench for the second straight game and scored 19 points.
The Quakers made 15 of 20 3-pointers and their 75 percent shooting tied the school record set against Princeton on Jan. 30, 1993. For the game, they shot 72 percent from the field.
Nick Curtis scored 15 points to lead the Trojans (6-5), who came within six points of their worst loss ever. They shot 30 percent for the game and had 11 turnovers.
The Quakers dominated the first half, making 21 of 24 field goals, controlling the boards 16-7 and getting 19 assists. They had a 22-8 edge in the paint and scored 10 unanswered points on fast breaks.
The Trojans closed to 25-22 on a 3-pointer by Roy Smiley before Penn put the game away with a 28-5 run to end the half ahead 53-27.
David Klatsky, Onyekwe and Jeff Schiffner had six points each and the Quakers hit five 3-pointers in the spurt that was fueled by 87 percent shooting, an opponent record in a half against the Trojans. The old mark was 86 percent by Stanford in 1985.
USC managed a modest 13-9 run to start the second half, but it didn't make a dent as the Trojans only got within 22 points. Penn answered with seven straight points, including its 11th 3-pointer, for a 69-40 lead with 14:10 left.
Duane King hit Penn's 14th and 15th 3-pointers in the final three minutes. The Quakers fell one 3-pointer short of the school record of 16.
The game was moved from the Los Angeles Sports Arena because of a Disney on Ice show.
Meeting for the first time since 1995, Penn leads the series 5-2. The Quakers improved to 14-8 all-time against the Pac-10.
