National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Akron 66, Southern California 46
When: 12:30 PM ET, Thursday, November 20, 2014
Where: TD Arena, Charleston, South Carolina
Officials: # Rusty Neal, # Kevin Sutton, # Joe Eigner
Attendance: N/A

Akron 66, USC 46: Pat Forsythe collected 15 points and nine rebounds as the Zips knocked off the Trojans in the Charleston Classic.

Kwan Cheatham Jr. added 15 points and Noah Robotham scored 14 for Akron (2-0), which will take on Miami (Fla.) in Friday's semifinals. The Zips finished with a 41-39 advantage on the glass despite being without leading rebounder Demetrius Treadwell, who was suspended indefinitely for a violation of the school’s student-athlete code of conduct.

Nikola Jovanovic scored 11 points to lead USC (1-2), which shot 28.3 percent from the field and 2-of-12 from 3-point range. Freshman guard Jordan McLaughlin, who came in leading the team in scoring with an average of 17 points, was limited to eight points on 2-of-9 shooting.

The Trojans went nearly seven minutes without a field goal in the first half as Akron grabbed a 22-16 lead. Robotham’s layup stretched the lead to 36-22 before Darwin Clark’s dunk in front of the buzzer made it a 12-point gap at the break.

The Zips had the lead up to 17 points before USC made a push, chopping the deficit to 47-40 on Jovanovic’s layup midway through the second half. Antino Jackson responded with back-to-back 3-pointers for Akron and the Trojans went nearly eight minutes without a field goal as the lead swelled to 20 points.

GAME NOTEBOOK:
USC will take on the Drexel on Friday. … Treadwell averaged 15.2 points and 8.6 rebounds last season and picked up 10 points and 13 boards in the Zips’ opener before being suspended. … Trojans F Malik Martin was the only other player to reach double figures with 10 points.
Top Game Performances
 
Southern California   Akron
Nikola Jovanovic 11 Scoring Kwan Cheatham Jr. 15
Julian Jacobs 2 Assists Nyles Evans 4
Nikola Jovanovic 9 Rebounds Pat Forsythe 9
Nikola Jovanovic 5 Free Throws Made Noah Robotham 4
Julian Jacobs 2 Steals Nyles Evans 3
Malik Martin 1 Blocks Pat Forsythe 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Southern California 46 28.3 2-12 14-22 6 37 1 5 16
Akron 66 40.0 8-27 10-13 14 36 6 10 12