Princeton Rallies To Beat USC 103-93 In Overtime

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Myles Stephens scored a career-high 30 points and Princeton defeated Southern California 103-93 in overtime on Tuesday night in the second-ever meeting between the schools and first since 1972.

The Tigers (5-6) outscored the Trojans 17-7 in overtime after Princeton blew all of an 11-point lead in the second half of its highest scoring game of the season.

Devin Cannady added 23 points and Sebastian Much had a career-high 19 points for the Tigers, who won their third in a row. Amir Bell had 18 points — seven in OT — nine assists, seven rebounds and five steals.

Chimezie Metu led the Trojans (6-4) with 25 points and 10 rebounds. Jordan McLaughlin added 24 points and Elijah Stewart scored 20.

The Tigers made 9 of 10 free throws in overtime, when Stewart fouled out and Jordan Usher picked up his third and fourth fouls for USC.

The Trojans committed two costly fouls in the final seconds when Metu got stripped of the ball in the paint and Nick Rakocevic was called for a double-dribble.

Princeton trailed by one when the Tigers launched a 20-8 run to take a 62-51 lead. Stephens and Much had eight points each, with Much hitting back-to-back 3-pointers, the first of which beat the shot clock.

Much's five 3-pointers were a career high in a homecoming game for the native of Laguna Niguel.

The Trojans refused to concede. Stewart and McLaughlin hit consecutive 3-pointers in the final 32 seconds of regulation, the last of which left USC trailing 85-82.

McLaughlin's layup cut USC's deficit to 86-84 before Cannady turned the ball over on the baseline under heavy pressure.

After a timeout, McLaughlin's layup tied the game at 86. Much missed a potential game-winning 3-pointer with 2 seconds left.

Princeton came out firing to start the game, hitting five 3-pointers — three by Cannady — to take its largest lead of the first half, 23-16.

The Trojans answered with an 18-2 run sparked by six different players scoring to take a 34-25 lead.

BIG PICTURE

Princeton: The Tigers struggled to start the season, losing six of their first eight games. They head to Hawaii later this week on a roll, with three games remaining before the start of Ivy League play on Jan. 5. They were undefeated in league play last season.

USC: The Trojans' up-and-down season continues. After opening as the No. 10 team and winning their first four games, they dropped three in a row before winning two and losing again. They have three games left in Hawaii before starting Pac-12 play on Dec. 29.

UP NEXT

Princeton: The Tigers travel to Hawaii to play Middle Tennessee State in the Diamond Head Classic on Friday. If the Tigers win, they could potentially play the Trojans on Saturday.

USC: The Trojans play Akron in the islands on Friday.