Boogie Ellis scored 13 points while Chevez Goodwin and Drew Peterson added 12 each as No. 21 Southern California put together a second-half rally to escape with a 74-68 nonconference victory over Pacific on Tuesday in Los Angeles.
Seldom-used freshman Harrison Hornery hit three key 3-pointers in the second half for the Trojans (20-4). USC added the game as a replacement for a December contest against Oklahoma State that was canceled because of COVID-19 issues within the Trojans’ program.
USC struggled without leading scorer and rebounder Isaiah Mobley, who was out because of a non-displaced nose fracture.
Alphonso Anderson scored 22 points, Nick Blake added 12 and Khaleb Wilson-Rouse had 11 for Pacific (7-16), which has another challenge looming when it plays at No. 2 Gonzaga on Thursday.
Tuesday’s game appeared to be a way for the Trojans to rebound from a loss Saturday at then-No. 7 Arizona before a home game against No. 12 UCLA this weekend. It was anything but.
Pacific had a 22-12 lead midway through the first half as USC struggled through a 1 of 10 stretch from the field. The Tigers led 30-22 at halftime as the Trojans went 0 of 7 from 3-point range in the opening 20 minutes.
Pacific pushed its advantage to a game-high 13 points with 17:01 remaining before the Trojans switched to a full-court defense. The Tigers’ lead began to melt away as USC went on a 14-4 run capped by a Hornery 3-pointer to pull within 43-40 with 11:28 to play.
Hornery then added two more 3-pointers in an 8-0 run as the Trojans took their first lead since the opening three minutes at 53-51 with 8:01 remaining. A Peterson basket gave USC a 57-56 lead with 5:27 remaining, and the Trojans never trailed again. Hornery finished with nine points.
Without Mobley, USC was outrebounded 38-29.
–Field Level Media
