Boogie Ellis compiled 15 points, eight rebounds and seven assists to lead a balanced effort for Southern California in an 82-74 victory over Cal on Wednesday at Los Angeles.
USC (7-7, 1-2 Pac-12) increased its winning streak over the Golden Bears to 11 games.
Cal (4-10, 0-3) took its fifth loss in the past six games overall.
Kobe Johnson had 14 points (all in the second half), seven rebounds and five assists for the Trojans. Isaiah Collier finished with 13 points and seven assists, DJ Rodman had 11 points and Bronny James wound up with 10.
USC, which finished with a season-high 29 assists, led by as many as 17 points in the second half.
Cal had four players score in double figures, led by Jaylon Tyson’s 23 points. Rodney Brown Jr. and Keonte Kennedy each had 13 points, and Jalen Celestine scored 11.
Tyson’s steal and dunk with two minutes remaining cut USC’s lead to 76-71.
Joshua Morgan answered with a dunk on the Trojans’ next possession.
Ellis missed the front end of a one-and-one free-throw situation with 42 seconds left and Tyson made a 3-pointer to trim the deficit to 78-74.
After Harrison Hornery made two free throws for USC, Tyson missed a 3-point attempt.
Ellis again missed the first free throw of a one-and-one situation with 13 seconds to go, leaving the gap at six points.
Brown then missed a 3-point try for Cal.
James, the son of LeBron James, made two free throws with 2.7 seconds left to seal the win.
Cal made four straight shots from the field, three of them 3-pointers, to cut USC’s lead to 73-66 with 4:53 remaining.
A 3-pointer by Ellis at the shot-clock buzzer with 2:37 remaining put USC ahead 76-66.
The shot ended a drought of more than three minutes without scoring for the Trojans, who committed three turnovers in that span.
USC took the lead for good with a 15-3 run in the first half that opened a 37-27 lead with 48 seconds left.
Hornery and Johnson each made a 3-pointer in consecutive possessions to put USC ahead 53-36 with 14:40 remaining.
Tyson and Brown answered with two 3-pointers on Cal’s next two possessions.
USC built the lead back to 17 points when James made a layup with 12:27 to go, but Cal again responded with 3-pointers by Brown and Kennedy to cut the gap to 61-50 with 11:08 left.
–Field Level Media
