Ellis, Peterson lift Trojans over Utah
SALT LAKE CITY » Boogie Ellis scored 16 points, Drew Peterson added 14 and USC picked up its fourth straight win with a 62-49 victory over Utah on Saturday night.
USC ties No. 7 Arizona for second place in the Pac12 Conference with the win. Arizona State stunned the Wildcats 89-88 earlier Saturday on Desmond Cambridge's 55-foot 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Ellis made 6 of 12 shots, including 4 of 8 from 3-point range, for the Trojans (218, 13-5). Peterson hit two 3-pointers and added eight assists and seven rebounds. Kobe Johnson finished with 12 points and three steals. Reese Dixon-Waters contributed nine points and six rebounds off the bench.
Marco Anthony scored 11 points to lead the Utes
Arizona at USC, Thursday, 8 p.m., ESPN (17-13, 10-9), who have lost four straight. Branden Carlson totaled 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Ellis sank three 3-pointers and scored 11 points, Peterson added 10 and USC built a 34-28 lead at halftime. The Trojans shot only 39% overall, but they made 8 of 15 from beyond the arc. Utah shot 34% overall and missed 9 of 11 attempts from distance. The Utes had six turnovers to USC's five, but the Trojans had an 11-0 edge in points off those turnovers.
Ellis buried a 3-pointer to open the second half and a dunk by Vincent Iwuchukwu gave the Trojans a 43-36 lead with 13:51 left to play. Anthony followed with a layup and Mike Saunders Jr. hit a 3-pointer to pull the Utes within two, but Johnson answered with a 3-pointer and USC maintained a two-possession lead the rest of the way.
The Trojans shot 42% overall but made 11 of 23 from beyond the arc (64%). Utah shot 32% and made 5 of 22 attempts from distance.
Marcus Sasser scored 22 points to help the top-ranked Cougars beat the host Piratesand clinch outright possession of the American Athletic Conference regular-season title. Tramon Mark added 20 points for Houston (272, 15-1), while J'Wan Roberts had 17 points and 12 rebounds. East Carolina (14-14, 5-10) had an energetic home crowd for the first-ever visit from a No. 1-ranked team to Minges Coliseum. Ezra Ausar scored 15 points to lead the Pirates.
NO. 2 ALABAMA 86, ARKANSAS 83 » Brandon Miller scored 24 points and Mark Sears made 7 of 8 free throws over the final 1:04 to help the host Crimson Tide (25-4, 15-1 Southeastern Conference) top the Razorbacks. Fellow freshman Nick Smith Jr. of Arkansas (19-10, 8-8), another potential NBA draft lottery pick who helped keep the Razorbacks in it with a late 3-pointer, scored 24 points. Davonte Davis had 21 points for Arkansas,
NO. 3 KANSAS 76, WEST VIRGINIA 74 » Dajuan Harris scored 17 points to help lift the No. 3 Jayhawks over the visiting Mountaineers. The stifling Kansas defense kept West Virginia from attempting a shot in the final 20 seconds. Harris led the Jayhawks (24-5, 12-4 Big 12) with 7 of 9 shooting from the field. Erik Stevenson led West Virginia (16-13, 5-11) with 23 points.
NO. 17 INDIANA 79, NO. 5 PURDUE 71 » Jalen Hood-Schifino scored a career-high 35 points and Trey Galloway added 10 of his 13 in the second half, leading the Hoosiers over the Boilermakers at Purdue. Indiana (209, 11-7 Big Ten) snapped a seven-game losing streak in West Lafayette and pulled its first season sweep in this bitter rivalry since 2012-13. Zach Edey led Purdue (24-5, 13-5) with 26 points and 16 rebounds.
NORTH CAROLINA 71, NO. 6 VIRGINIA 63 » Pete Nance scored 22 points to lead the host Tar Heels' upset of the Cavaliers. Nance shot 7 of 10 from the floor and was 4 of 4 from behind the arc. R.J. Davis notched the fourth double-double of his career with 16 points and 10 rebounds for North Carolina (18-11, 10-8 Atlantic Coast Conference). Jayden Gardner had 19 points and 12 rebounds to lead Virginia (21-6, 13-5).
NO. 9 BAYLOR 81, NO. 8 TEXAS 72 » Jalen Bridges had 17 points for the ninth-ranked Bears, who overcame a huge deficit with an impressive run right after freshman standout Keyonte George left injured early. Adam Flagler had 14 points for host Baylor (21-8, 10-6). Dylan Disu had a season-high 24 points for Texas (22-7, 11-5).
CAL STATE FULLERTON 70, CAL STATE BAKERSFIELD 66 (OT) » Max Jones scored 17 points for the visiting Titants. Jones shot 7 of 11 from the field and 3-for-4 from the line for CSF (18-12, 12-6 Big West Conference). Jalen Harris scored 15 points while going 4 of 11 from the floor, including 3-for-7 from distance. Travis Henson led the Roadrunners (10-19, 6-12) with 22 points.
LONG BEACH STATE 71, CSUN 64 » Lassina Traore's 18 points helped the Beach defeat the visiting Matadors. Traore added six rebounds for Long Beach State (16-14, 10-8 Big West Conference). Aboubacar Traore scored 17 points while going 6 of 7 and 5 of 7 from the free throw line, and added 12 rebounds and eight assists.
HAWAII 72, UC IRVINE 67 » DJ Davis scored 27 points and shot 6 of 11 from 3-point range, but his effort wasn't enough for the visiting Anteaters (20-10, 13-5 Big West). Dawson Baker addded 12 points for UC Irvine. The Rainbow Warriors (22-9, 136) got 27 points from Jovon McClanahan.