By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information Coordinator
LOS ANGELES, Calif. – A late run by the hometown Trojans proved to be enough to hand the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team its first loss of the 2014-15 season as the Golden Eagles fell to USC in Los Angeles Monday evening, 70-58.
In a game that saw the Tech squad battle toe-to-toe with the Pac-12 members for nearly 40 minutes, key buckets late from USC guard Katin Reinhardt gave the Trojans the opportunity to put the game out of reach.
Playing in front of several family members and friends proved to be no problem for Los Angeles native Dwan Caldwell, as the big man tied with Reinhardt for a game-high 19 points, thanks to 8-for-16 shooting from the field. Caldwell added five rebounds, all on the offensive glass, for the Tech squad in 31 minutes of action.
For the second-straight game, junior center Charles Jackson notched a double-double, scoring 12 points and crashing the boards for 10 rebounds. He also saw 31 minutes of action to open his career with double-doubles in each contest, the first Tech player to do so in over a decade.
Shirmane Thomas, a sophomore guard for the Golden Eagles, stuffed the stat sheets on the night with eight points, six rebounds, two assists, a block and three steals over 30 minutes of action.
Two factors to the game were the disparities in free throws and attempts and 3-point shooting. USC attempted 16 more freebies in the contest, drilling 70 percent while Tech made just 61 percent of its 18 shots at the charity stripe. The Trojans also finished with a 40 percent mark from beyond the arc while the Golden Eagles struggled from downtown, hitting just 1-of-18 attempts.
Tech actually out-rebounded the home squad on the night, pulling down 42 boards to USC's 33. The Golden Eagles grabbed 22 boards on the offensive end alone. Tech also had one less turnover than the Trojans.
The Golden Eagles will head back home for a Saturday night contest against in-state rival Chattanooga. Game time is set for 6 p.m. CT in the Eblen Center.
