LOS ANGELES — USC had allowed its six-point lead in the final minute against No. 19 Auburn to dissipate, a bad in-bounds pass intercepted by the Tigers to cut it down with four free throws with hardly any precious seconds slipping off the clock.
With the game on the line, the Trojans put their fate in the hands of guard Boogie Ellis. But when he split his free throws, failing to make it a two-possession game with 7.5 seconds left, Ellis did the next best thing, fouling the Tigers on the court and not allowing Auburn to get up a 3-point attempt to tie.
The Tigers made their free throws, then fouled Ellis again. This time, he made both and Auburn guard K.D. Johnson’s heave bounced off the back of the rim as USC escaped with a 74-71 win.
“This is our biggest win of the year, by far,” head coach Andy Enfield said. “Not only from a national resume perspective, but also we’re a young team developing. And I thought this showed we can compete.”
Ellis led all scorers with a season-high 28 points on 9-for-15 shooting. Johni Broome led the Tigers with 16 points.
Despite the home setting, USC (9-3) faced a hostile crowd. Auburn fans were in their seats early, some with body paint on as they cheered for the Tigers (9-2) as they took the floor. A “Let’s go Auburn” chant erupted as soon as the visitors won the opening tip.
But two Auburn turnovers and an Ellis pull-up jumper silenced them momentarily.
Ellis came ready for this game, answering Auburn’s first basket, a 3, with one of his own. When USC called a timeout after the Tigers took a 15-13 lead, Ellis drove down the lane after the in-bounds pass for a lefty layup off the backboard to tie it again.
The Trojans took the lead again on a Joshua Morgan layup. Guard Kobe Johnson came up with a steal on the other end and flipped the ball to Ellis, who bounced it forward to Drew Peterson for a one-handed dunk.
Ellis hit the Trojans’ next three baskets, first a step-back 3 off a Morgan screen, then a pull-up jumper. He completed the hat trick with a two-handed transition dunk, staring down the Tigers as he back pedaled up the court, fists clenched at his sides.
“I thought he played his best game of the year,” Enfield said of Ellis. “He defended, he was physical, he was quick, he was aggressive on offense. He made the right decisions.”
Ellis scored 14 of USC’s first 28 points and helped the Trojans build an eight-point lead. But he couldn’t stay on the court for the entirety of the first half, and USC quickly crumbled without him, with back-to-back 3s erasing the Trojans’ lead.
When Ellis had checked out at the 5:35 mark, USC was up 31-23. By the time he reentered the game at 1:42, USC trailed 37-35, a 10-point swing. The Trojans couldn’t even get up a shot on the final possession of the half with a full shot clock as Auburn took a 39-35 lead into the locker room.
In an upset, the underdog typically rebounds well or shoots lights out from 3-point range. But Auburn out-rebounded USC 32-19 and the Trojans only made four 3s, and one in the second half.
But USC retook the lead by forcing Auburn into mistakes. The Tigers committed 23 turnovers in the game, 13 courtesy of USC steals. Fourteen of those giveaways came in the second half. The Trojans turned those opportunities into 23 points.
“I feel like we’re at our best when our guards are flying around, forcing turnovers,” Ellis said. “We did that today.”
And the Trojans took advantage of Auburn’s second-half foul trouble, making 20 of 25 from the free-throw line after only two attempts in the first half.
“We needed a big resume game for March,” Ellis said. “So it gives us a lot of confidence knowing we can play with one of the best teams in the country.”
