Ellis Hits Jumper To Lift No. 17 USC Past Washington State
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Boogie Ellis hit a 16-foot jumper from the foul line with 0.2 seconds left to give No. 17 Southern California a 62-60 comeback victory over Washington State on Sunday night.
Washington State had a 60-57 advantage before USC scored the final five points. Max Agbonkpolo hit a 3-pointer to tie it with 2:15 remaining.
Ellis scored 21 points, with six coming in the final five minutes. Drew Peterson added 17 points for the Trojans (23-4, 12-4 Pac-12). They have won four straight and are off to their best start since 1974.
The Cougars (14-12, 7-8) lost their fifth straight despite going 15 of 31 on 3-pointers. Tyrell Roberts had 16 points, including four 3-pointers, and Noah Williams added 14.
Washington State had a final chance after Ellis' jumper, but the inbound pass was intercepted by Joshua Morgan at the buzzer. In contrast to the prowess beyond the arc, the Cougars were 5 of 32 on 2-pointers.
Washington State scored eight straight points to take a 46-38 lead with 12:33 remaining. The Cougars were still up 57-51 with five minutes remaining before the Trojans ran off six straight to tie it.
The Trojans led most of the first half. They jumped out to a 16-6 advantage five minutes into the game as Peterson led the way with seven points. But the Cougars would slowly rally back and would take a 32-28 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Washington State ended the half on a 9-2 run, including a pair of 3-pointers by Roberts. The Cougars were 9 of 17 from beyond the arc in the first half, but just 2 of 18 on 2-pointers.
BIG PICTURE
Washington State: Ten of the Cougars' losses this season have been by five points or under. They have dropped 12 straight against the Trojans with the last win coming in 2015 at USC.
USC: The Trojans were 19 of 25 on free throws after struggling from the line for most of the season.
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