Los Angeles, CA- The University of Southern California Trojans (10-16, 4-11 Pac 12) lost in a double overtime thriller to the visiting Colorado Buffs (17-9, 8-7 Pac 12) 92-89 at the Galen Center.
Despite a strong performance from USC’s guards senior Boogie Ellis and freshman Isaiah Collier, the Trojans surrendered a 16-point lead in the final 10 minutes of the contest due to their inability to get defensive stops and grab defensive rebounds.
KJ Simpson scored 30 points on 9 of 17 shooting and made 6 of 9 attempts from behind the arc to lead Colorado.
“Tough loss for our team, guys played hard, just couldn’t get enough defensive stops or rebound the ball in the last 10 minutes of the game, Head Coach Andy Enfield said. “So disappointing guys play very hard. Just one possession here and there was the difference.”
USC was outrebounded 47-22 by the Buffs. This continues a concerning trend for the Trojans as they have been outrebounded by a total of 73 rebounds in the last four games. Their big men were recently called out publicly by Andy Enfield after their home loss to Oregon.
After being hampered by a hamstring that caused him to miss several weeks earlier in the season, Boogie Ellis appeared to return to form with a 30-point performance to lead USC in scoring.
USC hit 51% from the field by making 16 out of 31 attempts and they shot 53% from beyond the arc, connecting on 7 out of 13 attempts in the first half.
Colorado shot 50% from the floor making 13-26 attempts and outrebounded the Trojans
19-8 in the first half but trailed 33-39 as both teams went into their respective locker rooms.
In the second half USC cooled down a bit shooting 44% from the field and 33% from the three-point line.
Isaiah Collier scored 25 points for the Trojans and dished out a career-high 9 assists but missed a critical free throw that would have put USC ahead by three instead of two at the end of regulation.
With the window left open for the Buffs, KJ Simpson drove down the lane and dished it to Luke O’Brien for the dunk that knotted things at 73-73.
Colorado shot 51% from the floor and 41% from behind the arc in the second half.
At the end of the first overtime, Isaiah Collier tied the game at 83-83 on a driving layup and forced the second overtime.
In the closing seconds, USC had the ball and an opportunity to send the game into third overtime but the Colorado played good perimeter defense that forced a tough three-point attempt that game up short for Boogie Ellis and the Trojans.
Junior captain Kobe Johnson spoke on the state of the locker room after this close loss “Nobody likes losing. “Nobody wants to lose but I still believe in this team. “The record may say something else but I know you know we got the talent and we got the guys on this team to make a run. We just got to be able to clean up the little details. That’s really all it is. We’re right there” Johnson said.
Up next for USC is their last Pac-12 battle with their crosstown rival UCLA next Saturday at Paulley Pavilion. Both teams prepare to head to the Big Ten next season.
