INGLEWOOD, CA -- The USC Trojans may have found themselves a home away from home in the newly established Intuit Dome, as the Inglewood venue would host the Illinois State Redbirds and Trojans in the Experian Hall of Fame Series. The Trojans remain perfect in the young season, etching their third win with a final score of 87-67, all in part of the dominant performance of junior guard Rodney Rice, etching his first collegiate triple-double and only the second Trojan ever to record a triple-double.
Rice was everywhere in the 36 minutes he played, snagging boards and finding his own Trojans for easy looks, which led to some early offensive explosion for USC. By the end of the game, Rice notched 21 points, 10 boards, and 10 assists.
The Trojans were on the defensive from the jump in Inglewood, as Junior Gabe Dynes recorded 3 blocks in the first half alone. By the end of regulation, the Trojans had themselves 7 blocks and 6 steals.
Despite the Redbirds being down 40-26 at the end of the first half, they were starting to pick it up on offense as senior Ty'Reek Coleman had himself a 16-point second half and led the scoring front for Illinois State. After coming off a career game last time out, Chad Baker-Mazara was set to have himself another solid game, but after colliding with Coleman as he was driving towards the basket and injuring his hip late into the second half, his minutes were limited towards the end of the game with an undisclosed hip injury.
Baker-Mazara would finish his night with 18 points on 7-13 shooting and 4 rebounds.
The Trojans would put this game away quickly as they shot 61 percent in the second half, with Ezra Ausar and Baker-Mazara leading the charge with double-digit figures. With this win, the Trojans improve to 3-0 and will travel back home to the Galen Center to face off against the other Trojans of college basketball, the Troy Trojans.