Los Angeles, CA- Behind a stellar night from their 5th-year senior Boogie Ellis, the USC Trojans (6-2) were victorious in their win over the visiting Eastern Washington Eagles (1-7) 106-78.
Boogie Ellis was flat-out phenomenal, hitting nine out of 13 field goals, including an impressive eight of 10 from behind the arc, for a total of 28 points.
The eight three-pointers marked a new career high for the guard, eclipsing his last
performance here at the Galen Center, where he tied his previous record with six threes against Brown University.
Ellis’s terrific shooting display was no surprise to head coach Andy Enfield. “He’s one of the greatest shooters I ever coached. I was in the NBA before college so that says a lot.”
The Trojans asserted their dominance right from the tipoff, maintaining control throughout the game. In the first half, they exhibited a strong offensive performance with 58% shooting from the floor, successfully making 18 out of 31 attempts. Their three-point shooting was equally impressive, connecting on 7 out of 15 shots, registering a 46% success rate.
Ellis Led the charge for the Trojans in the first half, making five out of 6 three-point shots and putting up 19 points.
The Eastern Washington Eagles also demonstrated a solid shooting performance in the first half, shooting 43% by connecting on 14 out of 32 attempts from the field. Their three-point shooting was noteworthy as well, hitting 38% by making 5 out of 13 attempts.
The Trojans led52-33at the end of the first half.
The second half began with an impressive 14-4 run by USC, extending their largest of the game at 32 points.
Ellis continued his onslaught, raining in three more attempts from deep. Isaiah Collier came alive after a two-point first half and finished with 15 points and six assists. Kobe Johnson also had a career night dishing out seven assists to go along with his 12 points.
Kobe Johnson spoke on his development and growth as a player. “Expanding my game and getting everyone involved is another step that I need to take. Freshman year, I was a defender primarily, last year I started to open people’s eyes to what I could do offensively, this year people are starting to realize the type of player I am and what I am capable of”.
USC’s outstanding shooting carried over from the first half, they finished with almost identical percentages as the first half. The Trojans made 18 of 32 from field goal range shooting 56% and nailed five out of nine attempts from deep, for 55%.
USC would finish the game shooting 57% from the field making 36-63 field goals and 50% from behind the arc connecting on 12-24 attempts.
The Trojans scored 100 points for the first time since March of 2018 against UNC Asheville.
Eastern Washington shot 46% in the second half, managing to make 14-30 from the field, and shot 40% from the three-point line making eight out of 20 attempts
Former UCLA Bruin, Jake Kyman led the way for the Eagles with 25 points shooting nine out of 13 from field goal range and shooting 70% from long distance making seven out of 10 attempts.
The Trojans prepare to head to Las Vegas to take on the #11 Gonzaga Bulldogs in the Legends of Basketball Las Vegas Invitational at MGM Grand Garden Arena in what should be a primetime matchup on ESPN.
