Drew Peterson scored a career-high 27 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and blocked five shots as No. 21 Southern Cal won its fifth straight game over crosstown-rival and No. 12 UCLA, 67-64, Saturday in Los Angeles.
Peterson shot 9-of-13 from the floor, including 4-of-5 from 3-point range, the last of which came on a step-back from the right wing after calling for a clear-out. The isolation play gave USC a six-point lead with 5:15 remaining and the Trojans maintained a multiple-possession edge for much of the duration.
USC (21-4, 10-4 Pac-12) shot 8-of-18 from beyond the 3-point arc, including 2-of-3 from Reese Dixon-Waters off the bench. Dixon-Waters finished with 10 points. Chevez Goodwin added 10 points with nine rebounds, and Max Agbonkpolo scored eight points off the bench on 4-of-6 shooting from the floor.
UCLA (17-5, 9-4) fell behind late in the first half after giving up a 12-4 run, but pulled to within two points by halftime behind Tyger Campbell’s 16 first-half points.
Campbell matched Peterson’s game-high 27 points and shot 13-of-14 from the free-throw line. The Bruins went 21-of-26 at the foul line but shot just 19-of-63 from the floor.
Johnny Juzang was the only other Bruin to score in double-figures, with 12 points, more than six points less than his average coming into Saturday. Cody Riley scored nine points and grabbed seven rebounds, and Myles Johnson pulled down 11 rebounds off the bench.
Six of Johnson’s boards came on offense, leading UCLA to 18 offensive rebounds. The Bruins outscored the Trojans in second-chance points, 13-4, but USC outscored UCLA in the paint, 26-16.
USC played without Isaiah Mobley for a second straight game. The Trojans leader in scoring and rebounding sustained a broken nose Feb. 5 at Arizona.
With Saturday’s win, USC remained perfect against UCLA since Mick Cronin became the Bruins head coach in 2019. Three of the Trojans’ last four wins in the series are by a combined six points.
–Field Level Media
