USC men’s basketball (13-17, 7-12 Pac-12) began its final home stretch of the season with an 81-73 victory over Arizona State (14-16, 8-11) Thursday night. The Trojans were able to seek revenge on the Sun Devils after falling to them on the road earlier this season.
“It’s amazing when you have your full roster, including your two leading scorers. Losing the two of them was devastating for our Pac-12 season,” head coach Andy Enfield said. “I am proud of the guys mentally; they have stuck together.”
Trojan fifth-year guard Boogie Ellis scored a game-high 28 points, shooting 75 percent from beyond the arc.
“He looked [like] the guy we all have known and expect, but he has come along with his decision-making, defense and scoring,” Enfield said.
Trojan junior forward Kobe Johnson scored 15 points, adding four rebounds and two assists.
Sun Devils graduate guard Jose Perez scored a team-high 25 points.
The Trojans could not have gotten off to a better start, led by Ellis controlling the offensive tempo and sinking two early threes. USC’s sticky man-to-man defense created early problems for the Sun Devils, forcing them into contested shots.
Defense led to offense for the Trojans, as they converted the Sun Devils’ turnovers into points on the other end. The Trojans’ free-flowing offense helped them take an early nine-point lead halfway through the first.
However, offensive inconsistency has been a struggle all season for the Trojans. After controlling the pace to start the game, USC’s offense went cold, going scoreless for six straight minutes. The Sun Devils finally found a rhythm on offense, going on a 14-0 run to take their first lead at the 7:21 mark in the first half.
USC’s mistakes were the key to the Sun Devils regaining their momentum. Like the Trojans’ early success, the Sun Devils converted when the Trojans coughed up the ball. By halftime, the Trojans had turned the ball over seven times, leading to nine Sun Devil points.
After trailing by as many as five points in the final five minutes of the first half, the USC offense picked back up. Late buckets from freshman guard Isaiah Collier and Johnson had the Trojans and Sun Devils squared after one half, 32-32.
The offensive showdown did not slow for Arizona State or USC heading into the second half. Ellis stole the show with a barrage of threes, scoring 20 of his 28 points in the second frame.
Foul trouble forced Enfield to shift around rotations and schemes, leaving the star freshman Collier on the bench for an extended time in the second half. The Trojans had four guys with three or more fouls.
“When we went to man, we were committing fouls on dribble penetrations and some dumb fouls,” Enfield said. “I didn’t want to get in the situation where our backcourt fouled out, so we went zone.”
Even with USC’s 2-3 zone, the Sun Devils still produced 32 points in the paint, as they constantly caught the Trojans sleeping on backdoor cuts. However, the backcourt for USC stepped up in a big way on the boards, out-rebounding the Sun Devils 32-22.
With the game knotted at 49 at the 12:20 mark, the Trojans’ 12-2 run midway through the second half completely changed the game’s tide. In typical fashion, Ellis got fans on their feet, rocking the Galen Center with his uncanny shooting ability from deep. In three minutes, Ellis knocked down three 3-pointers, with each one met by a loud roar from the stands.
The hot hand of Ellis had Sun Devils coach Bobby Hurley telling his junior guard Frankie Collins to not even let Ellis catch the ball.
The Trojans never looked back, holding a lead the rest of the way. Down the stretch, USC had a response for every Sun Devil bucket. The defensive intensity was picked up, by senior center Joshua Morgan and Johnson making key plays to secure the win.
“Tonight we did a good job of staying calm, handling the pressure well and maintaining the lead in the second half,” Johnson said.
USC finished the game shooting a remarkable 50% from the 3-point line, as well as finishing with 18 assists on the night.
“When we have the ball moving and everybody is making their shots, that’s when we are at our best,” Ellis said.
USC will conclude regular-season play on Saturday at 7 p.m. against No. 5 Arizona at Galen Center.