Boogie Ellis scored 21 points, Reese Dixon-Waters and Kobe Johnson had 15 points each, and Southern California beat Colorado 84-65 in Boulder, Colo., on Thursday night.
Drew Peterson added 11 points and Tre White finished with 10 for USC (20-8, 12-5 Pac-12 Conference). The Trojans have won three straight.
KJ Simpson scored 18 points and Luke O'Brien had 12 for Colorado (15-14, 7-11).
The Trojans led 18-16 midway through the first half but started to pull away. Ellis made a layup, Peterson fed Johnson for a 3-pointer and then hit a jumper to give Southern Cal a nine-point lead.
Ellis hit a 3-pointer that made it 38-23 with 4:42 left, the Buffaloes trimmed their deficit to 10 a minute later but the Trojans took a 43-30 lead into the break.
Southern California quickly increased the lead to start the second half. White and Johnson had dunks, Dixon-Waters hit a jumper and Ellis split a pair of free throws that gave the Trojans a 53-36 lead with 14:59 left.
Quincy Allen made a 3-pointer to stop USC's momentum, Peterson answered with a layup to make it 55-39 when Colorado made a push to get back into the game.
Ethan Wright made a pair of 3-pointers 28 seconds apart and Lawson Lovering dunked in an 8-0 Buffaloes run that got them within eight. Ellis hit a jumper and Allen made one of two free throws to make it 57-48.
The teams traded baskets to keep it a nine-point game, but the Trojans started to extend the lead.
Dixon-Waters made a free throw, Kijani Wright tipped in an Ellis miss and Ellis then made a layup to force a Colorado timeout.
USC kept the momentum, with Dixon-Waters sinking two free throws, Johnson converting a three-point play and Peterson hitting a layup to make it 73-53.
The Buffaloes went on a 9-2 run over a span of 2:33 to cut the lead to 75-62 and had a chance to get closer but Simpson missed a layup and the Trojans closed it out.
--Field Level Media
Southern California | Colorado | |
Boogie Ellis 21 | Scoring | KJ Simpson 18 |
Drew Peterson 6 | Assists | KJ Simpson 5 |
Kobe Johnson 7 | Rebounds | Lawson Lovering 7 |
Boogie Ellis 5 | Free Throws Made | Luke O'Brien 3 |
Kobe Johnson 2 | Steals | KJ Simpson 4 |
Joshua Morgan 3 | Blocks | Quincy Allen 4 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Southern California | 84 | 56.9 | 8-19 | 10-17 | 12 | 36 | 4 | 5 | 9 |
Colorado | 65 | 36.4 | 6-28 | 11-15 | 12 | 28 | 6 | 8 | 6 |