USC stops 49ers in opener

USC honored its past and embraced its present Friday night, retiring the jersey numbers of its two greatest former stars and rolling to an 85-50 season-opening rout of Long Beach State in its Galen Center debut.

After Cheryl Miller and Lisa Leslie were feted in an emotional halftime ceremony, the 22nd-ranked Trojans opened the second half of the first basketball game in their new on-campus arena with a 30-6 run to pull away from the 49ers.

“We just said, ‘We’re not going to lose in front of Cheryl and Lisa,’ ” said USC Coach Mark Trakh, whose team outscored the defending Big West Conference co-champions in the second half, 48-20, and outshot them, 65% to 29%.

Senior Shay Murphy led the Trojans with 21 points. Senior Chloe Kerr had 15 points and eight rebounds.

-- Jerry Crowe

No. 1 Maryland 80, Middle Tennessee 76 -- Kristi Toliver made a three-point shot with 3:11 left to break a 72-72 tie, and the defending national champions held on for the win at Murfreesboro, Tenn.

No. 2 North Carolina 96, East Tennessee State 35 -- The host Tar Heels’ high-pressure defense forced 26 turnovers and held the visitors without a basket for nearly 10 minutes in the first half.

No. 13 Arizona State 87, Nebraska 60 -- The Sun Devils have won 23 consecutive regular-season home games. They will play No. 18 New Mexico in the second round of their Veterans Day Classic. The Lobos beat Florida Atlantic, 74-44.

No. 14 Texas A&M; 72, Pepperdine 48 -- The score was tied at 33-33 early in the second half before the host Aggies used a 13-1 run to pull away.

No. 15 Kentucky 80, Washington State 51 -- The host Wildcats scored the first 14 points of the second half to take a 53-19 lead.

No. 19 Baylor 84, North Texas 47 -- Bernice Mosby scored the first eight points of the second half as the host Bears took control with an 18-2 run.

No. 24 Brigham Young 73, Idaho State 50 -- The host Cougars advanced to the second round of the Preseason NIT.