Second-half spurt carries Indiana past Southern California

Oumar Ballo scored a game-high 23 points Wednesday night as Indiana pulled away in the second half for an 82-69 Big Ten Conference win over visiting Southern California in Bloomington, Ind.

Ballo was 9 of 11 from the field and added eight rebounds and two blocks for the Hoosiers (13-3, 4-1 Big Ten), leading four scorers in double figures. Myles Rice stuffed the stat sheet with 19 points, nine rebounds and six assists, while Luke Goode contributed four 3-pointers and 16 points.

Trey Galloway chipped in 11 points and six assists as Indiana won despite getting no points from Mackenzie Mgbako, who averages 14.1 points per game but missed all eight of his shots, including five from long range, in 15 minutes.

Wesley Yates III scored 18 points for the Trojans (9-6, 1-3) to lead four men in double figures. Desmond Claude added 15 points, while Saint Thomas and Chibuzo Agbo each contributed 11. But USC cooled off drastically in the second half, going just 10 of 29 from the field.

The Hoosiers took charge with an 11-1 run early in the second half, establishing a 49-41 advantage on Galloway's layup from Rice at the 16:09 mark. Indiana was able to keep the Trojans at arm's length from there.

Prior to tip-off, the main storyline was how a USC team that doesn't feature much size would handle Indiana's inside-oriented attack that planned to play through the 7-foot Ballo. He was coming off a 25-point, 13-rebound game Sunday at Penn State.

The Trojans were on point for most of the first half, using sound defensive rotations to limit Ballo's impact and moving the ball well on offense. They opened up a pair of 10-point leads, going up 22-12 on a short jumper by Thomas at the 10:23 mark.

But the Hoosiers found rhythm later in the half, taking their first lead with 3:25 left on Ballo's layup. They pushed the margin to four before USC fought back and forged a 38-38 tie at the break when Rashaun Agee recorded a putback with four seconds remaining.

--Field Level Media