Temecula native and former Rancho Christian standout Isaiah Mobley scored 18 points and had 12 rebounds as No. 24 USC’s stifling defense earned a 58-43 victory over San Diego State in the title game of the Paycom Wooden Legacy. Drew Peterson scored 16 points and Chevez Goodwin added 10 as the Trojans improved to 6-0 at the start of the tournament. They held the Aztecs to 32.1% shooting and just 15 points in the first half.
“I feel like I just played off the flow of the game,” Mobley, who was named tournament MVP, said. “I feel like they had smaller defenders on me so I knew I could get it down low. My teammates believe in me, the coaches as well, to just to put me in a position to score. It wasn’t pretty, but we got it done.”
Currently USC is 10-0 and will host UC Irvine (5-2) this week. This could be one of the toughest tests that Mobley and the Trojans have faced thus far. The Anteaters rank second in the nation in opponents’ field-goal percentage (34.5%). USC began play Sunday third in that category (34.9). The Trojans have not looked intimidated by any opponent so far and are playing with an elevated level of confidence as they look to make another deep run in the NCAA tournament.
JP Raineri can be reached by email at sports@reedermedia.com.
