LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Senior Robert Hatter became the 26th 1,000-point scorer in Cornell history and sophomore Stone Gettings had 22 points in a return to his hometown, but No. 23/25 USC was able to stave off a hot Big Red start for a 79-67 victory on Monday evening at the Galen Center. The Trojans remained unbeaten at 11-0, while Cornell fell to 2-7 in game two of the Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational.

Hatter scored 20 points and added four rebounds and two assists, while Gettings netted 22 along with six rebounds, two assists, a blocked shot and a steal in the loss. Matt Morgan chipped in 15 points, six rebounds and two assists for the Big Red. Senior JoJo Fallas, who like Gettings calls Los Angeles home, had a career-high six assists to go along with four rebounds. The Big Red hit 12 3-pointers and assisted on 17 baskets with just 11 turnovers.

The Trojans got 17 points and six rebounds from Chimezie Metu and Jordan McLaughlin had 16 points and nine assists. USC blocked 10 shots and held a dominant 43-28 edge on the backboards in extending its best start since 1971.

The Big Red led by as many as 10 points (16-6) in a first half that saw the visitors, largely on the strength of seven made 3-pointers, control the tempo and keep the high-scoring Trojans at bay. Hatter scored 14 of his points before heading to the locker room, while Gettings notched 10 points in just nine minutes.

USC chipped away at the lead, evening the score at 28-28 before Hatter hit consecutive 3-pointers to push Cornell's lead back to four (34-30). The last three and a half minutes belonged to the home team, who forced five straight misses and scored on its final three possessions of the half to tkae a 37-34 lead into the break.

Cornell couldn't even it up in the second 20 minutes, though it got back within a possession two minutes into the half and still trailed by one six with less than three minutes left. 

NOTES TO KNOW
• Gettings scored 10 points in the first 4:46 before being called for his second foul.
• He had a string of six consecutive 3-point makes broken, but is still 7-of-9 over his last two games.
• Gettings, Matt Morgan and Robert Hatter each hit four 3-pointers on the night.
• Hatter, who had hit just 4-of-35 3-pointers on the season entering the game, connected on four treys in the game's first 16:27.
• His layup with 18:01 remaining allowed Hatter to come the school's 26th 1,000-point scorer.
• Senior JoJo Fallas had a career-high six assists.

KEY STRETCH
• USC ended the first half on a 7-0 run, turning a 34-30 Big Red lead into a three-point deficit at the break.
• Cornell was held scoreless over the final 3:33, missing its final five shots of the half.
• The Big Red was never able to regain the lead after Jordan McLaughlin scored on a driving layup and assisted on a pair of baskets during the run.

NEXT UP
• The Big Red will continue play in the Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational when it heads to Las Vegas to face Troy on Thursday, Dec. 22 at 5:30 p.m. PT.
• Troy won the only previous meeting between the two schools, a 74-71 decision in the consolation game of the Ball State First Merchants Classic on Dec. 4, 1999. 
• Depending on the result, Cornell will then face either Chicago State or Southeast Missouri State on Friday, Dec. 23 at Orleans Arena.