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