National Basketball Association
Southern California 72, Wichita St. 69
When: 2:00 PM ET, Thursday, November 26, 2015
Where: HP Field House, Kissimmee, Florida
Officials:
# Tim Nestor, # Mark Schnur, # Ted Valentine
Attendance:
4629
By The Sports Xchange
Freshman forward Bennie Boatwright hit five 3-point shots and scored a career-high 22 points as USC upset No. 20 Wichita State 72-69 in the quarterfinals of the AdvoCare Invitational in Orlando, Fla., on Thursday.
The Shockers were without guard Fred VanVleet, an All-America candidate who missed his second game because of a hamstring injury. He is unlikely to play in the tournament.
Boatwright was 5 of 9 from behind the arc, hitting one after Wichita State had closed to 61-60 and another with USC holding a 64-62 lead.
Wichita State forward Zach Brown had a good look from about 35 feet at the buzzer to tie the game, but the shot went off the front of the rim.
USC (5-0) is off to its best start since the 2000-01, when it began 7-0. The Trojans - who hadn't defeated a ranked team since knocking off No. 11 Arizona on Feb. 27, 2013 - play No. 23 Xavier in Friday's semifinals.
The Shockers (2-2) are in danger of falling out of AP poll after 42 consecutive appearances.
Guard Ron Baker scored 25 points and was 6 of 10 from 3-point range to lead Wichita State, which also was without backup freshman point guard Landry Shamet because of a stress fracture in his left foot.
USC post Nikola Jovanovic had 14 points and 11 rebounds. Guard Jordan McLaughlin had 15 points. USC committed 23 turnovers but overcame that by shooting 12 of 23 from 3-point range.
Top Game Performances
Wichita St. |
|
Southern California |
Ron Baker 25 |
Scoring |
Bennie Boatwright 22 |
Ron Baker 5 |
Assists |
Julian Jacobs 9 |
Anton Grady 7 |
Rebounds |
Nikola Jovanovic 11 |
Ron Baker 3 |
Free Throws Made |
Bennie Boatwright 3 |
Markis McDuffie 4 |
Steals |
Bennie Boatwright 3 |
Anton Grady 2 |
Blocks |
Julian Jacobs 2 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Wichita St.
|
69 |
35.1 |
9-29 |
8-10 |
14 |
37 |
4 |
13 |
15 |
Southern California
|
72 |
45.5 |
12-23 |
10-17 |
15 |
32 |
8 |
11 |
23 |