Five-Star Freshmen Lead Vanderbilt to Big Road Win Over USC

Five-star freshmen Darius Garland and Simi Shittu were key in Vanderbilt's big road win.

LOS ANGELES — Darius Garland had 19 points, Simi Shittu added 14 points and 15 rebounds and Vanderbilt beat USC 82-78 on Sunday night.

The Trojans had a 69-67 lead on a Jonah Mathews layup before the Commodores went on a 9-2 run to take the lead. Joe Toye, who finished with 16 points, had three free throws to key the rally.

Derryck Thornton got USC within 76-74 with 14 seconds on a layup while being fouled by Shittu but was unable to make the ensuing free throw.

Nick Rakocevic led the Trojans (1-1) with 19 points and 18 rebounds while Thornton added 17 points and Kevin Porter Jr. 14.

Aaron Nesmith added 10 points for the Commodores (2-0). The game is part of the Pac-12/SEC Showdown.