Die Allianz T-D-P » on Michigan State made more than one

LOS ANGELES -- Southern California didnt panic when they fell behind in the second half and the Trojans rallied by hitting threes to stay undefeated.Bennie Boatwright scored a season-high 17 points and freshman DeAnthony Melton added a career-high 15 points to lead the Trojans to a 78-73 victory over SMU on Friday night.Boatwright made 4-of-7 3-pointers and Jonah Matthews scored 14 points for the Trojans.I was out for 2 months and Im now getting my rhythm back, Boatwright said. My flow within the offense is picking up and my teammates are making good passes to me. In my first two games, I was pressing and everything was off.USC (5-0) improved to 5-1 all-time against the Mustangs (4-2) and shot 49.1 percent from the field, including 12 of 24 from beyond the arc.Melton scored nine points during a 19-4 run -- capped by Meltons 3 -- that gave USC a 51-41 lead with 10:56 to play.I got out there and ran and got open shots and that makes it fun, said Melton, who made 5 of 9 shots, had 6 rebounds and 5 assists. We (the freshmen) are holding our own and our hard work is paying off. Im learning and Im getting stronger.Boatwright and Melton combined to make 7 of the 12 USC 3-pointers.SMU cut the score to 74-68 with 1:15 to play following a steal and layup by Shake Milton but would get no closer.That was a nice win, USC coach Andy Enfield said. SMU is a quality team and will probably win 20-plus games. It was a big win for us. The players showed poise when they got behind in the second half. They ramped up the defense and got back in the game. The defense was getting stops using our length. Then we got out in transition and hit some threes.Ben Moore led SMU with 14 points. Semi Ojeleye added 13 points and 10 rebounds. Milton and Sterling Brown each scored 12.The Trojans took a 19-14 lead following a 3-pointer by Shaqquan Aaron at the 9:39 mark. The Mustangs battled back and took a 22-21 lead before USC took a 28-27 lead into the break.We knew coming in that USC was a strong team offensively with great quickness, SMU coach Tim Jankovich said. We played a tremendous first half defensively but over the course of the game you could see our opponent hurting us with 3-point shooting. Every single guy is a big threat on USC and you could really see that come alive in the second half.SMU outrebounded the Trojans 39-35 and outscored USC in the paint 38-24.BIG PICTURESMU: With five players averaging double figures and the Mustangs having led the American Athletic Conference in shooting percentage for the last 3 seasons, SMU figures to finish higher in conference than middle of the pack as predicted.USC: USC has four starters averaging in double figures and its four freshmen are contributing. For the second consecutive season, the Trojans open the season at 5-0. The Trojans are one of four Pac-12 teams still undefeated.DeMAN OF STEAL: Melton had five steals in a win against New Orleans on Nov. 22 and leads the Pac-12 with 14 steals. His 3.3 steals per game seventh in the country.QUICK COMPARE: Entering Fridays game, both USC and SMU were leading their respective conferences -- Pac-12 and American Athletic -- in offensive rebounding. The Trojans average 15.8 per game and SMU is averaging 14.6.UP NEXTSMU: The Mustangs continue their two-game road trip at Boise State before returning home to open a six-game home stand.USC: The Trojans wrap up their six-game home stand against UC Santa Barbara on Sunday. Rickey Jackson Saints Jersey . - Oakland Raiders running back Rashad Jennings was speaking to a group of local high school students earlier this week when the conversation turned to the importance of being prepared when opportunities in life arise. Willie Roaf Jersey .com) - The Montreal Canadiens will try to halt their longest losing streak of the season when they host the struggling New York Islanders in tonights clash at the Bell Centre. http://www.saintsrookiestore.com/Saints-Marcus-Davenport-Jersey/ . Robinson finished with 17 points, all but two in the second half, and Lawson had 14 after halftime and finished with a game-high 11 assists as the Nuggets handed Dallas its first home loss in eight games this season. J.J. Hickson led Denver with 22, and Kenneth Faried added 10 points and 10 rebounds. Wil Lutz Saints Jersey . Following a lopsided 5-2 loss against the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday night, Paul MacLean told reporters that "theres a lack of focus, theres a lack of leadership and theres a lack of preparation" with his struggling team. That came on the heels of Bryan Murray taking the unusual step of going into the locker room at the Prudential Center and addressing the players himself. TreQuan Smith Jersey . - The Washington Redskins have cut defensive lineman Adam Carriker and punter Sav Rocca. NEW YORK -- One of the Kentucky freshmen stepped up big from the outside while the rest of the Wildcats took care of things with defense.Malik Monks 23 points on 7-for-11 shooting from 3-point range and the second-ranked Wildcats defense that held No. 13 Michigan State to 32.8 percent shooting combined for a 69-48 victory Tuesday night in the State Farm Champions Classic at Madison Square Garden.These guys took some pride defensively here, Kentucky coach John Calipari said. Michigan State they run great stuff. They iso and do things that forced us to prepare beyond where we are.The Wildcats (3-0) averaged 90 points in their first two games but this time it was defense that did it as the Spartans (0-2) shot 32.8 percent from the field (20 of 61) including 5 for 26 (19.2 percent) from beyond the arc.Relying on another talented freshman class, Kentucky was able to up the tempo enough and keep the tenacious defense going that the Spartans committed 20 turnovers which the Wildcats turned into 24 points.Freshman DeAaron Fox added 12 points for Kentucky, which snapped Michigan States two-game winning streak in the series that the Wildcats lead 13-11.We knew they were going pack it in. I just had to be prepared, Monk said. They set me up well. I was just able to knock down the shot.Kenny Goins and Cassius Winston led the Spartans with nine points each. Freshman Miles Bridges was held to six points on 2-for-11 shooting but he grabbed 12 rebounds.We did a couple of things knowing that if he got going he would be a beast, Calipari said of Bridges. He had 12 rebounds, but the way we played, we just made it really difficult for him to just play basketball.Spartans coach Tom Izzo said, Im actually a little embarrassed. I felt like we competed defensively for the most part, we just didnt do anything offensively. We looked like a team that was an AAU team, we just went 1-on-1 didnt move the ball and got frustrated.The Spartans were coming off a 68-65 loss to No. 10 Arizona in Honolulu.I was very disappointed in the way we were kind of `deer in the headlights but you know you have four freshmen playing at Madison Square Garden and coming off the Hawaii trip, that was the way we played. Well get better.Kentucky led 34-26 at halftime and the Wildcats opened the big lead with a 16-7 run that made it 51-37 with 12:04 to play.dddddddddddd Michigan State continued to struggle from the outside and the Wildcats led by as many as 23 points.Its the same freshmen that played against Canisius and we were down with three minutes in the half, Calipari said. Weve got a long way to go. This shows us what were capable of and now we have to build from this. You have to convince them that if we become a great defensive team.BIG PICTURE:Kentucky: The Wildcats freshman class is as loaded with talent as any recruited by Calipari and this group has size. ... Last season the Wildcats had trouble setting any kind of presence inside but with freshmen Ban Adebayo and Wenyen Gilbert grabbing 11 rebounds between them. Kentucky was able to stay on the glass with the Spartans only being outrebounded 44-40.Michigan State: The Spartans played in Honolulu on Friday and then headed across the country for this game. Michigan State will travel 13,600 miles by Nov. 29 and in a 21-day span they will face at least three Top 15 opponents. ... Michigan State wont be at full strength for a while as they wait for Gavin Schilling and Ben Carter to return from injuries.ALL ALONE:Monk was the only Wildcat to make a 3-pointer. The rest of the team was 0 for 7. Nobody on Michigan State made more than one 3.You have to give Monk credit he was 3 for 13 going in and hit some big 3s early, unguarded on the break, Izzo said.FOUL SHOOTING:Kentucky was 16 of 20 at the free throw line while the Spartans were 3 of 9.SITTING PRETTY:In the row behind the Kentucky bench were Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Larry Brown who was Calipari boss at Kansas and Bruiser Flint, the coach who succeeded Calipari at Massachusetts. Also sitting in a good seat was New York Knicks guard Carmelo Anthony. Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski went over and gave Anthony a big hug before the second game. The two were part of the last Olympic gold medals for the U.S.UP NEXT:Kentucky: The Wildcats return to Rupp Arena to face Duquesne on Sunday.Michigan State: The Spartans finally stop traveling to go home and play Mississippi Valley State on Friday. ' ' '