An acrobatic and-one layup by freshman guard Bronny James might have extended USC men’s basketball’s lead to 16 over Colorado halfway through the second frame, but the Buffaloes weren’t going to let the Trojans have a cakewalk to the finish line.
USC’s (10-16, 4-11 Pac-12) rebounding woes and foul trouble contributed to Colorado’s (17-9, 8-7) eventual comeback, capped off by a game-tying dunk from senior guard Luke O’Brien with four seconds remaining in regulation. Both teams traded makes in the first overtime to set up a second, when the Buffaloes’ free throws allowed them to only need one field goal to edge the Trojans. Colorado prevailed 92-89, as senior forward Tristan da Silva blocked fifth-year guard Boogie Ellis’ 3-point prayer attempt to tie the game, stunning the hopeful Galen Center crowd.
“Our guys played hard, we just couldn’t get enough defensive stops or rebound the ball in the last 10 minutes of the game,” head coach Andy Enfield said. “Just one possession here and there is the difference.”
Ellis posted a season-high 30 points and gave it all he had on the floor, playing in 47 of the game’s 50 minutes. He notched five 3-pointers while also adding five assists and four rebounds; he hit some big shots down the stretch, too.
“The effort and energy that we played with tonight is what we should look like,” Ellis said, “but moving forward, we just have got to come out with a win.”
The Trojans’ main kryptonite was the Buffaloes’ junior guard, KJ Simpson. He was nearly unstoppable from downtown, connecting from long range six times. He also went to the free throw line eight times, hitting six of his attempts, totalling his points at 30 on the night. His two makes from the charity stripe with 1:10 remaining in double overtime put Colorado up three, which proved to be enough to hold off USC.
Colorado’s starting forward duo of da Silva and freshman forward Cody Williams was also one of the Buffs’ main catalysts, with da Silva scoring 18 points and Williams putting up 14. While USC generated 21 turnovers when defending the Buffs, it only scored 15 points off takeaways. Colorado, while only generating just nine turnovers on the other hand, was able to score a much more efficient 14 points off them.
Freshman guard Isaiah Collier tallied 25 points, his highest amount since he scored 26 on January 6 against Stanford. Collier connected with his teammates with ease, posting nine assists — including some flashy alley-oops. He also generated five Colorado turnovers, blocking two shots and recording three steals. Collier was also responsible for forcing the second overtime, as his layup with five seconds remaining in the first extra frame knotted the game at 83 apiece.
Redshirt senior forward Joshua Morgan feasted on the defensive end, blocking five shots before fouling out in the first overtime. The Trojans could’ve used his ability down the stretch, as USC’s other big men didn’t contribute nearly as much. The Trojans’ bench only mustered six points the entire game, putting pressure on an already tired starting lineup to carry the load.
“We gave up too many second shots, too many second chance points,” Enfield said. “They made their run, and then we missed a few layups. When the other team goes on a run you’ve got to score the ball at some point.”
Junior guard Kobe Johnson put together a solid game on both ends of the floor, scoring 14 points and pickpocketing the Buffaloes on four occasions.
Despite leading for more than 35 minutes, the Trojans showed, once again, that they are no strangers to blowing leads — in USC’s last bout with the Buffaloes in Boulder, the Trojans led by 13 points at halftime before Colorado went on a scoring flurry in the second half to win the game, 68-58. Coming off a thrilling win against Utah on Thursday night, USC couldn’t carry over its late-game winning mentality to Saturday.
“As frustrating as this loss was, as much as we wanted it, we’ve got to move on,” Johnson said. “We’ve got to put this one in our back pocket, use this as ammo.”
The Trojans will attempt to get back on the horse against archrival UCLA (14-11, 9-5) next Saturday at 7 p.m. at Pauley Pavilion. USC fell to the Bruins last matchup at Galen Center, so it’ll hope to avoid the sweep as the season winds down.