Aggies falter in USC loss
HONOLULU — Bennie Boatwright drained a long 3-pointer with 4.1 seconds left and Southern California held off New Mexico State 77-72 in the title game of the Diamond Head Classic Monday.
The Trojans (9-4) won the tournament for the second time in program history with their third consecutive win. They also won the inaugural tournament in 2009.
Boatwright, a 6-foot-10 junior, scored a career-high 33 points on 10-of-16 shooting, including six 3-pointers. He also shot a perfect 7 of 7 from the free-throw line, grabbed seven rebounds and was named the tournament’s most valuable player.
New Mexico State held a 72-68 lead with 1:58 remaining, but Jordan McLaughlin banked in a 7-foot jumper and Jonah Mathews tied it with his coast-to-coast layup with 1:01 left.
Boatwright’s three from about 26-feet on the left wing gave the Trojans the lead for good.
McLaughlin added 12 points, eight assists and five rebounds for the Trojans, who shot 51 percent (26 of 51) from the field and 11 of 21 from beyond the arc.
Zach Lofton scored 28 points to lead the Aggies (11-3), who saw their five-game win streak snapped. The score was tied at 34 at halftime. New Mexico State, the preseason pick to finish second in the WAC, will visit UC Irvine on Thursday before opening up conference play at Chicago State on Jan. 6.