USC
7-4
Akron
6-3
Team Stats
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
USC Opens Second Half to Blitz Akron 84-53
December 22, 2017 | Men's Basketball, Features
HONOLULU (AP) -- Elijah Stewart scored 20 points, Chimezie Metu 16 and Jonah Mathews 13 and Southern California rallied past Akron for an 84-53 win in a first-round game of the Diamond Head Classic Friday.
USC (7-4) overcame a nine-point deficit in the first half and narrowed the deficit to 33-29 at halftime. The Trojans emerged from the break on a 20-5 run with Stewart and Metu scoring 15 to put USC up 49-38 with 14:39 to play.
The Trojans shot 61 percent (17 of 28) from the field in the second half and were 27 of 55 (49.1) overall.
Stewart, a 6-foot-5 senior guard, shot 6 of 14 from the field, but made three of his seven attempts from beyond the arc, and was 5 of 6 at the free-throw line. He scored 15 of his points after halftime.
USC was 10 of 23 deep and 20 of 27 at the free throw line.
Jaden Sayles scored 12 points and Daniel Utomi and Eric Parris added 11 apiece for Akron (6-3).
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Akron, which saw its three-game win streak snapped, will take on Princeton in a consolation semifinal Saturday.
USC will play in a championship semifinal Saturday against Middle Tennessee, which has won six of its last seven games.
