USC plays first game in 3 weeks, beats Santa Clara 86-63

Updated Dec. 29, 2020 9:33 p.m. ET
Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Evan Mobley had 17 points, seven rebounds and three blocks, and Southern California beat Santa Clara 86-63 on Tuesday night, the first game for the Trojans in nearly three weeks.

Isaiah Mobley added 13 points, seven rebounds and blocked two shots for USC (5-1). The Mobley brothers combined for 12-of-16 shooting and had 14 of the Trojans 44 rebounds.

The Trojans hadn’t played since Dec. 8, a 91-56 rout of UC Irvine, due to a confirmed COVID-19 case within the program. They canceled games against San Francisco and Texas Southern, and had their opening Pac-12 matchups against Stanford and Oregon State postponed.

Tahj Eaddy added 13 points for the Trojans. Drew Peterson, a junior transfer from Rice, had seven points and nine assists. Chevez Goodwin added 10 points off the bench.

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Josip Vrankic and Christian Carlyle scored 13 points apiece for Santa Clara (6-2), which has lost two consecutive games after a 6-0 start.

Evan Mobley scored six points during a 14-4 run that gave the Trojans a 20-10 lead with 14 minutes remaining in the first half, and they led by double digits the rest of the way.

The 20 days without a game is the longest stretch for the Trojans since the 1967 season, when they went 36 days without a game (Dec. 21-Jan. 27).

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