USC Basketball: Star Guards Power Trojans Back Into Winning Column Against Brown Sunday Night

Boogie Ellis looked no worse for wear in his return Sunday!

Following an uncharacteristically poor showing against the UC Irvine Anteaters on Wednesday, your USC Trojans bounced back in a big way Sunday night against the Brown University Bears.

Fifth-year guard Boogie Ellis (28 points on 9-of-17 shooting, including 6-of-11 shooting from deep, plus four rebounds and four assists) and freshman guard Isaiah Collier (24 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the floor, including 3-of-5 shooting from deep, plus three boards and three dimes) paced the Trojans in scoring against Brown, en route to a slightly-too-close-for-comfort 81-70 victory. The win improves USC's record to 3-1 on the year.

Ellis, the team's leading scorer, and starting small forward Kobe Johnson both sat out the UCI contest. Ellis was grappling with a right ankle sprain, while Johnson was on the shelf with some left knee discomfort.

Ellis certainly looked like he had his hops back, en route to tying his career-high for made triples:

Brown kept things uncomfortably close in the opening half, finishing just three points behind USC, 35-32, at the break. Brown managed to keep pace a lot of the time.

USC's star dynamic duo helped clinch the contest in the game's waning minute. 

First, the Trojans got a little ref love, as Brown reserve guard Felix Kloman was called for a foul and a tech, meaning Ellis and Collier got to take four free throws between them to give USC's lead a little breathing room, 76-70.

Then, Ellis knocked down this lengthy trey at the 33-second mark to essentially ice the night:

Next up, USC will finish its five-game home stint at the Galen Center with a Thanksgiving matinee matchup against the Seton Hall Pirates, scheduled for 2:30 p.m.

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