Ducks drop conference opener to USC

EUGENE, Ore. -- USC guard Dwight Lewis scored a career-high 26 points to help lead USC to an 83-62 Pac-10 Conference win over Oregon on Friday afternoon in Eugene. The Ducks dropped to 6-7 overall and 0-1 in league action, while the Trojans improved to 10-3 on the season and 1-0 in conference play.

Lewis, who also registered six rebounds, went 10-of-19 from the field, including 4-of-5 from behind the 3-point arc. The Trojans had three other players score in double-figures: Daniel Hackett (15 points), DeMar DeRozan (14 points) and Taj Gibson (13 points). DeRozan grabbed 12 rebounds to finish with a double-double.

USC shot 48.3 percent from the field (29-of-60), including 53.3 percent on 3-pointers (8-of-15). The Trojans made 17-of-24 free throws for 70.8 percent. Oregon shot just 37.1 percent from the field (23-of-62) and 28.6 percent (8-of-28) on 3-pointers. The Ducks were 61.5 percent on free throws (8-of-13).

Four Oregon players also scored in double-figures, led by junior guard Tajuan Porter's team-high 12 points on 5-of-12 shooting. Sophomore guard Kamyron Brown came off the bench to score 11 points, freshman guard Garrett Sim also had 11 points, while fellow frosh Michael Dunigan had 10 points and a team-high seven rebounds.

The Trojans out-rebounded Oregon, 44-33. USC also held the statistical advantage in steals (7-2) and assists (15-10).

USC jumped out to the early lead, taking a 13-5 advantage after a made 3-pointer by Lewis with 14:23 remaining in the period. Oregon battled back to tie the game at 17-apiece after a 3-pointer by Sim with 9:22 left the in half.

The Ducks led by as many as five points in the first half, holding a 22-17 advantage with just under eight minutes in the stanza. USC out-scored Oregon, 17-12, over the next eight minutes to enter the half tied up at 34-34.

Oregon shot 37.5 percent from the field (12-of-32) in the first half, hitting just 5-of-15 (33.3 percent) on 3-pointers. Porter led all Ducks with 10 points at the break, hitting 4-of-9 from the field. Sim added eight points and Dunigan contributed six points and four rebounds in the first half.

The Trojans shot 35.7 percent from the field (10-of-28), with guard Lewis scoring a team-best 11 points at the midway point.

The Ducks led only once in the second half, taking a 36-34 advantage with the first basket of the half. USC would then go on a 12-2 run to take an eight-point advantage with 16 minutes left in the game. The Trojans built-up their second-half lead to as many as 23 points, out-scoring the Ducks 42-29 in the second half.

Oregon (6-7, 0-1 Pac 10) will return to action on Sunday afternoon with a home game against UCLA. Tip-time for the Ducks-Bruins contest is slated for 12:33 p.m. (PST) at McArthur Court in Eugene. The game will be televised on FSN.