USC
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Kansas
Trojans Fall to No. 12 Kansas, 63-47
December 22, 2011 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 23, 2011
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Elijah Johnson scored 14 points, Conner Teahan added 13 and No. 12 Kansas bounced back from a surprising loss to beat Southern Cal 63-47 on Thursday night.
Thomas Robinson had 10 points and nine rebounds, and Tyshawn Taylor added 10 points and nine assists for the Jayhawks (8-3), who suffered an 80-74 home loss to Davidson on Monday.
The Jayhawks overcame a sluggish start in their first true road game of the season with a strong defensive effort, forcing 18 turnovers that led to 18 points.
Aaron Fuller scored 19 points for USC (5-8), which shot 34.7 percent from the field.
"The stage was a bit big for our guys," O'Neill said. "We looked slow, we looked bad. And we didn't shoot the ball well."
Neither team was sharp in the early minutes, combining to miss 15 of 21 shots. The Jayhawks' defense eventually wore down USC and they slowly built their lead.
Trailing 10-8, Teahan gave the Jayhawks the lead for good with a 3-pointer from the top of the key. After Byron Wesley made a runner for USC, the Jayhawks closed the half with a 12-1 run.
Elijah Johnson had a steal and layup, Taylor was fouled while making a layup and hit the free throws, and Jeff Withey hit a pair from the line. Robinson then stole the ball at midcourt and drove in for an empathic dunk to make it 22-12.
Teahan hit another 3 as Kansas took a 25-13 lead into halftime.
USC's first half was rather forgettable. The Trojans shot 22.7 percent, settling for mostly for long-range jumpers. They had as many turnovers (13) as they did points.
"The turnovers killed us more than anything," O'Neill said. "I'm frustrated, the players are frustrated, too."
Robinson, held to four points on four shots in the first half, had a jumper, layup and a dunk on consecutive possessions to extend the lead to 52-30 after halftime, much to the delight of the pro-Kansas crowd.
Maurice Jones, USC's top scorer, was held to seven points on 2 of 13 shooting.
Kansas won its seventh consecutive game in the series.
