LOS ANGELES, Calif. | The Grambling State University men's basketball team once again put up a valiant effort against Power Four opponent but came up just short, falling to the University of Southern California 80-69 at the Galen Center on Sunday night. 
 
The loss dropped GSU to 1-4 while USC improved to 5-1. 
 
Senior guard Kintavious Dozier led three Tigers in double-figures, scoring 17 points on 5-of-9 shooting, including going 2-of-3 from behind the arc. He also had four steals and two rebounds. 
 
Mikale Stevenson notched a double-double, scoring 14 points and dishing 10 assists. He also grabbed three rebounds and made three steals. 
 
Antwan Burnett added 13 points, four boards, two assists and a block. 
 
The first half was a back-and-forth affair with neither team being able to pull away from the other. 
 
USC grabbed a quick 6-0 lead before Stevenson sparked an 8-0 run for GSU with a 3-pointer, giving the Tigers an 8-6 lead with 16:41 on the clock. 
 
Both teams traded jabs throughout the rest of period. With Tigers trailing 37-36 with six seconds left in the half, Stevenson swiped the ball from Southern Cal's Saint Thomas, finding Burnett in transition for dunk as time expired to give GSU a 38-37 advantage heading into the locker room. 
 
With 17:27 remaining in the second half, Grambling State trailed USC 44-43. 
 
Three straight buckets by Stevenson gave the Tigers a 49-44 advantage with 15:29 left.
 
Southern Cal looked as if it would run away with the game after using a 21-4 run over the next five minutes to craft a 65-53 lead. 
 
However, Grambling State continued to fight back. The Tigers used a 9-1 run, punctuated by a deep 3-point from Louis Hutchinson to make it a 66-62 game with 7:08 to play. With USC leading 68-64 with 4:36 to go, P.J. Eason's dunk pulled GSU with two points.
 
However, that was as close as the Tigers could get to the Trojans, as USC closed the game on a 12-3 run. 
 
Both teams efficient shooting the ball. Grambling State shot 45.5 percent from the field (25-of-55). The Tigers were 7-of-22 from three-point range (31.8 percent) and 12-of-14 from the free throw line (85.7 percent). 
 
USC connected on 50.0 percent from the floor (25-of-50) and shot 33.3 percent from long range (7-of-21). The Trojans were 23-of-33 (69.7 percent) from the charity stripe. 
 
Southern Cal's bench played a huge role in the game, outscoring GSU's bench 41-14. 
 
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