National Basketball Association
Colorado 98, Southern California 94
When: 9:30 PM ET, Thursday, January 29, 2015
Where: Galen Center, Los Angeles, California
Officials:
# Verne Harris, # Tony Padilla, # Rick Randall
Attendance:
3588
By SportsDirect Inc.
Colorado 98, USC 94 (3OT): Askia Booker scored a career-high 43 points - the most by a Pac-12 player this season - and 19 after regulation as the Buffaloes recorded their first win on the road this season in wild fashion.
Xavier Johnson recorded 12 points - including a clutch 3-pointer in the first overtime - before fouling out with 2:31 left in the second OT and freshman Tory Miller added season highs of 11 points and 13 rebounds for Colorado (11-9, 4-4 Pac-12). Booker was 13-for-23 from the field - 4-for-10 from 3-point range - and 13-for-15 from the free-throw line to help the Buffaloes overcome three players fouling out, including Wesley Gordon (eight points, seven rebounds) and Dustin Thomas (nine points).
Katin Reinhardt scored a career-high 35 points and tied a school record with nine 3-pointers before fouling out with 3:41 left and Nikola Jovanovic recorded a career-best 30 points - his 15th consecutive double-figure game - and nine rebounds before fouling out in the final seconds for USC (9-11, 1-7), which lost its fifth straight contest. Freshman Jordan McLaughlin contributed 11 points, seven points and seven rebounds, but was 5-for-12 from the free-throw line.
Colorado led by as many as 11 in the second half before scoring five points - all free throws - over the final 8:26 of the period as Jovanovic forced overtime with a basket at the rim to make it 66-66 with 44.1 seconds left. Johnson's 3-pointer - the Buffaloes' first field goal since the 10:13 mark of the second half and the only one by either team in the first overtime - made it 73-73 with 30.4 seconds left before McLaughlin's jumper in the lane bounced off the rim as time ran out.
Jovanovic could not complete a three-point play after giving USC an 83-81 lead with 18.7 seconds remaining in the second overtime, allowing Booker - who scored nine of Colorado's 10 points in the second OT - to deliver a floater in the lane with eight seconds left to force a third extra period. Booker scored eight points in the third OT, including a pair of free throws with 13.4 seconds left to make it 97-94 before McLaughlin missed a layup and Miller sealed the victory with a free throw.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Reinhardt (16) and Jovanovic combined for 30 of USC's 38 points in the first half as the Trojans led by as many as 10 before settling for a one-point lead at the break. ... Booker, who scored the fourth-most points in school history, recorded the second-highest point total in Division I this season behind Delaware State's Amere May, who recorded 48 in a 72-64 victory over St. Francis (N.Y.) on Dec. 17. ... Johnson returned after missing four games with an ankle injury, but Buffaloes C Josh Scott didn't play for the seventh time in the last eight games because of back spasms and G Jaron Hopkins sat out after suffering an ankle injury in practice Wednesday. ... USC's Anthony Pendleton made nine 3-pointers on Dec. 9, 1987 in an 85-66 loss to Long Beach State.
Top Game Performances
Colorado |
|
Southern California |
Askia Booker 43 |
Scoring |
Katin Reinhardt 35 |
Askia Booker 3 |
Assists |
Jordan McLaughlin 7 |
Tory Miller 13 |
Rebounds |
Nikola Jovanovic 9 |
Askia Booker 13 |
Free Throws Made |
Nikola Jovanovic 8 |
Askia Booker 3 |
Steals |
Darion Clark 2 |
Xavier Johnson 2 |
Blocks |
Darion Clark 1 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Colorado
|
98 |
46.2 |
8-22 |
30-42 |
8 |
38 |
2 |
8 |
20 |
Southern California
|
94 |
42.5 |
9-22 |
23-35 |
12 |
39 |
4 |
5 |
17 |