USC Alumni Attend the Opening Night of Trojan Basketball at the Galen Center

The energy was electric at the Galen Center last night when the USC Trojans Men's Basketball team opened up against Cal State Northridge University.

It was homecoming weekend at the University of Southern California; some of USC's finest were on hand to watch the team start off 1-0, including Lisa Leslie, Taj Gibson, and Demar Derozan. I'm sure Derozan and Gibson miss the days when they could play basketball without having to worry about a lockout.

Nevertheless, If the building wasn't filled with enough anticipation, the Jumbotron displayed an intro video that had the crowd ready for some USC basketball!

As a result, the Men of Troy got off to a fast start, jumping out to a 7-2 lead. Aaron Fuller was a consistent force all game inside, finishing with sixteen points and nine rebounds.

Northridge only found themselves down by eight points at the half, even though they only connected for four field goals to that point in the game.

USC really came out attacking the rim, in particular Maurice Jones who sank twelve of his fifteen attempts from the line.

Northridge's scoring did not improve very much in the second half, thanks in part to some solid USC defense, but they really couldn't throw a rock in the ocean finishing with a field goal percentage of twenty-five.

It was an ugly game all around, but there were definitely some positives USC can come away with. Although Byron Wesley did not score in double figures, the freshmen now has his first game underneath his belt. Look for him to be more aggressive as the season progresses.

Dewayne Dedmon had three blocks to go along with his sixteen points, but it was Maurice Jones who stepped up in the final minutes and into his leadership role. From here on out, when the Trojans need a bucket or direction, look for the team to look to sophomore point guard Maurice Jones.

Thanks to some balanced scoring and some horrid shooting on Northridge's part, USC starts off 1-0 as they look ahead to Nebraska on Monday.

Did I mention UCLA lost? That's another story for another time, but I'm just saying...