McLaughlin Leads USC Past Oregon State, 81-70

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jordan McLaughlin had 17 points and nine assists as USC rode a hot-shooting first half to an 81-70 victory over Oregon State on Wednesday night.

Katin Reinhardt scored 15 points and Bennie Boatwright added 13 for the Trojans (20-10, 9-8 Pac-12), who snapped a three-game losing streak and moved into sixth place in the conference standings with one regular-season game remaining.

USC reached the 20-win mark for the first since 2008-09.

Gary Payton II had 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists to lead Oregon State (17-11, 8-9), which dropped to eighth place in conference with one league game left. Stephen Thompson Jr. added 17 for the Beavers, who fell to 1-7 in conference road games.

The Trojans ran off a season-high 56 points in the first half, making 21 of 34 (62 percent) from the field, including 8 of 11 from 3-point range. USC finished off the period with an 18-4 spurt for a 56-33 halftime lead.

TIP-INS

Oregon State: Coach Wayne Tinkle is only the second coach in school history to win 17 games in his first two years in charge. Bob Hager was the first, back in 1923 (19-7) and 1924 (20-5). Gary Payton II came into the game as the only player in the country averaging 15.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.5 assists.

USC: The Trojans have won 10 of their last 12 home games against the Beavers. ... The Trojans' last five losses were by an average of 13.0 points per game, with the last two by 20 (at Stanford) and 22 (at California) last weekend. ... The Trojans have six players averaging double-digits in points, and have had seven players score 19 or more points in a game this season. ... With 21 points against California, Nikola Jovanovic became the 36th player in school history to surpass 1,000 points.

NEXT UP

Oregon State: At UCLA on Saturday.

USC: Home against No. 9 Oregon on Saturday.

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