Kobe Johnson scored 17 points and made five steals, including a crucial takeaway late, as USC rallied to take down Pac-12 Conference counterpart Oregon State 63-62 Sunday in Los Angeles.
USC (6-3, 2-0 Pac-12) gave up an 11-0 run late in the first half that put it behind the visiting Beavers for much of the conference matchup.
But while holding Oregon State (4-5, 1-1) to just 8-of-27 shooting from the floor and generating nine turnovers in the second half, the Trojans chipped away at the 11-point halftime deficit until Johnson took control.
He headlined a game-changing 8-0 run with about three minutes remaining in regulation, keyed by his 3-pointer to tie the game at 53. A Reese Dixon-Waters steal led to a Johnson drive and basket to give USC the lead with 2:25 left.
Just 15 seconds later, Johnson made the last of his career-high-matching five steals — equaling the total he made against Oregon State in February — setting up a possession ending with a Drew Peterson put-back score.
Peterson finished with 10 points, dished a game-high-tying six assists and grabbed five rebounds. Joining him in double-figure scoring for the Trojans was Joshua Morgan, who finished with 15 points and blocked three shots, but shot just 5-for-10 from the free-throw line, including two misses in the closing seconds.
Morgan scored late to push the lead to five points, but Oregon State gave itself a chance to come back when Dzmitry Ryuny connected on a 3-pointer and Jordan Pope hit another, both of which came in the final nine seconds.
The Beavers sent Morgan to the line but could not get up a shot after his misses.
Dexter Akanno led Oregon State with 17 points on 5-of-9 shooting, including 3 of 5 from 3-point range. Pope shot 3 of 7 from deep and finished with 11 points. The Beavers were 10-for-22 from beyond the arc overall.
Ryuny and Rodrigue Andela each grabbed a game-high nine rebounds.
–Field Level Media
