Trojans knock off CS Dominguez Hills in exhibition 64-47

November 3, 7:24 AMUSC Trojans ExaminerNeal Leitereg

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(A/P Photo)

Are you ready for some college basketball? With the start to the men's basketball season quickly approaching, the Trojans took some time to participate in a tuneup game as they hosted Cal State Dominguez Hills Monday afternoon.

Playing without a number of players, who will be counted on to contribute this coming season, the Trojans had to stage a comeback after going into the half trailing 35-29.

Fortunately for Southern California, they got a big contribution from a player, who will be one of the Trojans' key players in the upcoming season. Dwight Lewis.

Lewis led all players with 17 points. While his shots were not exactly falling in at will (Lewis shot 4 of 15 from the field), he was aggressive going to the basket and finished 7 of 8 from the free throw line.

After all the turmoil and tumultuous circumstances that the Trojans endured this summer, the team is still in somewhat of a transition as new head coach Kevin O'Neill figures out how to best utilize the team.

Some of the players are helping O'Neill figure it out for him.

Freshman Davis Rozitis, a 7-foot center from Latvia, came off the bench to score 14 points and snag 9 rebounds.

Rozitis' performance off the bench is a huge positive for a Trojans, team that will be relying on a number of young and unproven players this season.

Other Trojan performances of note include the play of forwards Marcus Johnson and Kasey Cunningham.

Johnson came within one point and one rebound short of a double-double, while Cunningham added 12 points and 7 rebounds.

For Cal State Dominguez Hills, guards Tim McLaurin and Jamel Ward each contributed with 10 points on the afternoon and Stephen Faulkner came off the bench to add 9 points and 8 rebounds as well.

While the win over Dominguez Hills is a good start, the USC men's basketball team will need to continue its had work as the odds are certainly stacked against the Trojans going into the 2009-10 season.

The regular season opens November 17^th at the Galen Center when USC hosts UC Riverside.