Alfonso Plummer scored 19 points, Timmy Allen added 15 and Utah dominated the second half to snap a four-game losing streak by pulling off a 71-61 upset of No. 19 USC on Saturday in Salt Lake City.
The Utes outscored the Trojans 44-32 in the second half, and neutralized USC star center Evan Mobley for most of the game as they improved to 10-11 overall and 7-10 in the Pac-12.
Mobley only made 2 of 7 field goals to finish with 11 points, coming after an off night in Thursday's blowout loss to Colorado.
USC's Drew Peterson had a terrific second half, scoring 13 of his 19 points to keep USC in the game, but the Trojans were too erratic on offense and shaky on defense in losing for the third time in four games.
The Trojans, who entered the night a half-game behind UCLA for the Pac-12 lead, dropped to 19-6 and 13-5. They shot only 37.3 percent from the field and hit just 2 of 13 shots from beyond the arc.
Utah trailed by a bucket at halftime, but that quickly changed in the second half. The Utes scored the first eight points out of the break to go up 35-29 and force USC into taking an early timeout.
Mobley hit two free throws to pull within 35-31, but Allen fed a nice lob to Pelle Larsson and then made a strong move to the basket as the Utes surged ahead for their first double-digit lead early in the half.
Allen later put the Utes up 50-37, and USC could get no closer than five down the stretch.
Ian Martinez, who finished with 10 points, and Branden Carlson each hit big 3-pointers in the second half to keep the Utes chugging along. Utah hit 9 of 15 treys in the game, including five from Plummer, and shot 48.2 percent overall.
--Field Level Media
Southern California | Utah | |
Drew Peterson 19 | Scoring | Alfonso Plummer 19 |
Tahj Eaddy 2 | Assists | Timmy Allen 8 |
Isaiah Mobley 10 | Rebounds | Mikael Jantunen 7 |
Evan Mobley 7 | Free Throws Made | Timmy Allen 3 |
Isaiah White 4 | Steals | Timmy Allen 2 |
Evan Mobley 1 | Blocks | Branden Carlson 3 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Southern California | 61 | 37.3 | 2-13 | 15-21 | 8 | 38 | 2 | 11 | 13 |
Utah | 71 | 48.2 | 9-15 | 8-9 | 19 | 26 | 7 | 4 | 15 |