LAS VEGAS — Boogie Ellis scored 25 points to lead ninth-seeded Southern Cal to an 80-74 win over No. 8 seed Washington on Wednesday afternoon in the opening game of the final Pac-12 tournament perhaps ever.
Kobe Johnson added 14 points and eight rebounds for USC (15-17), which also got 13 points from Isaiah Collier. The Trojans advance to face top-seeded and No. 6-ranked Arizona in the quarterfinals Thursday.
Washington finished the season 17-15 and Wednesday might have been the final game for head coach Mike Hopkins, as he is to be relieved of his duties at season’s end.
Sahvir Wheeler led the Huskies with 20 points, and Moses Wood and Koren Johnson added 17 each.
Washington led by as many as seven early in the second half, only to see USC retake the lead with an 8-0 run.
Wood hit a 3-pointer from in front of his own bench for a 59-54 Washington lead with 8:11 to play. The Trojans fought back with a Johnson 3, a Collier layup and a Joshua Morgan dunk, then Ellis swished a 3 with 5:51 to go for a 64-59 USC lead.
Wheeler drove for a layup to tie the score at 65 with 3:58 left. But USC was able to pull away down the stretch.
Bronny James made three free throws after being fouled on a 3-point attempt, and Ellis hit his fifth 3 of the game with 2:53 to go. Washington couldn’t recover, as turnovers and a lack of offensive execution doomed the Huskies.
Ellis grabbed a long rebound and dunked for a 74-67 lead with 38 seconds to play and Collier sealed USC’s win with two free throws.
Washington led by as much as nine in the first half, 19-10, but a 9-0 Trojans run erased that deficit. USC surged ahead 32-28 as both teams started making shots more regularly.
The Huskies hit four straight 3-pointers, three from Wood and one from Keion Brooks Jr., around 3s from Ellis and Collier as Washington reclaimed the lead at 39-35 with 1:57 to play in the half.
Wood sank a 3 at the halftime buzzer, his fourth of the half, and Washington happily jogged off the court with a 42-37 halftime lead. The Huskies hit 9 of 13 3s in the first 20 minutes.
–Jose Romero, Field Level Media
