Collier, Ellis help spark Trojans' win over Cal THE SCORE

LOS ANGELES >> This was a spark that could start a fire, a spark loud enough to ignite a sleepy post-New Year’s crowd at the Galen Center, flying from the fingertips of a racing Isaiah Collier.

Racing Isaiah Collier is redundant, really, because it’s simply what the kid does. The USC freshman switches gears faster than most players in the country, a truly electric talent; but talent doesn’t help your team win, as head coach Andy Enfield has said, if it’s inefficient talent.

And it had been largely inefficient for a month, a teenager still figuring out the collegiate game, that gear-shift stuck somewhere between sport and eco mode as turnovers mounted and drives to the rim stalled.

But in an 82-74 win over Cal late on Wednesday night, on the heels of a slumping five-losses-insix-games stretch, Collier seemed to find a true balance between power and poise. He spun through the paint like a whirling dervish, kicking passes out to shooters, nary a bad read coming from improved vision. And when he hurtled down the court in the middle of the first half off a turnover, fellow freshman Bronny James creeping alongside him in a twoon-one, he let a pass fly with calculated intentions.

James soared. Caught. Slammed.

It was an alley-oop that jolted Galen to life, and the kind of play that filled in a crude outline of what this 7-7 USC team could be, their two top recruits connecting on some transition magic.

After shooting and ballcontrol issues had tanked the majority of their December and casted a prying

USC 82, CAL 74 (WEDNESDAY)

Up next: Stanford at USC, Saturday, 1 p.m., Pac-12 Network

SUMMARY

eye on Enfield’s offensive system, USC moved in flow and tremendous pace with Collier and senior Boogie Ellis racking up a season-best 29 assists.

That flow, in large part, came from transition opportunities off swarming first-half defense. Ellis said preseason that USC games would be like a “track meet” — it had been the Trojans getting boatraced in December, until they forced the issue against Cal on Wednesday night. Late in the first half, after a James bucket, Collier leaked out for an and-one bully of a finish through contact; seconds later, a James trap forced a turnover that ended in an Ellis dunk. As perfect of a 7-0 run as one could mount.

Enfield’s offense shone though, too, in the halfcourt, with USC adhering to frequent movement and offball screens into handoffs to get Collier and other perimeter guards going downhill. It seemed to free Collier of self-inflicted mental shackles, finishing with seven assists without a single turnover, and led to wide-open 3s for shooters like DJ Rodman (a timely 11 points and 3-of-6 on 3s) and Harrison Hornery (2-of-3 on 3s after a brutal start).

The greatest beneficiary of all, though, was Kobe Johnson, who seemed to sigh to the heavens with a 3 that dropped early in the second half after starting 0-of-4 from the floor in the first half. His 3-point percentage had dipped to 25% after a weeks-long slump, but he found a long-awaited groove after the halftime buzzer, draining four 3s on a variety of looks.

USC’s perimeter defense slumped in the second half, a variety of Golden Bears shooters draining confoundingly wide-open spotups. And the goodwill built through 35 minutes evaporated late, as Cal broke into an aggressive trap defense that completely slowed USC’s attack, generating a turnover by Rodman and finish on the other end to cut USC’s lead to five with two minutes left.

But it was that same improved flow that all but clinched the win, Ellis weaving through traffic with the shot clock winding and finding a rolling Joshua Morgan on the bounce for a slam to extend a lead Cal would never touch.

Ellis led USC with 15 points, adding a team-best eight rebounds and seven assists. Johnson had 14, Collier 13, and James 10.

Cal’s Jaylon Tyson led all scorers with 23.

AZTECS ROUT FRESNO STATE >> Jaedon LeDee scored 21 points and San Diego State cruised to a 74-47 victory over Fresno State in a Mountain West Conference opener late on Wednesday night. LeDee made 9 of 12 shots and 3 of 4 free throws for the Aztecs (12-2), who have won five in a row. Micah Parrish

and Lamont Butler both scored 11 with Parrish adding seven rebounds and Butler four assists. Xavier DuSell led the Bulldogs (7-7) with 10 points.

Women's highlights

NO. 6 BAYLOR 71, NO. 23 TCU 50 >> Bella Fontleroy scored 16 of her 21 points in a big second-half comeback for Baylor, which beat TCU in a matchup of undefeated Big 12 teams in the Bears’ first game at their new arena in Waco. Sarah Andrews scored 13 of her 16 points in the second half for Baylor (13-0, 2-0 Big 12). Sedona Prince had 20 points and 10 rebounds for TCU (14-1, 1-1) and Madison Conner had 11 points but missed all six of her 3-point attempts. Both came in averaging more than 21 points a game, making the Frogs the only team with two 20-point scorers.

CLARK DELIVERS FOR IOWA >> No. 4 Iowa returns to action today at Rutgers coming off a dramatic 76-73 victory over Michigan State earlier this week where superstar Caitlin Clark sank a 30-footer at the buzzer for the win. Clark, a 6-foot senior guard and the nation’s leading scorer, had 40 points as the Hawkeyes (14-1, 3-0 Big Ten) extended their winning sttreak to 11 games. Michigan State (11-3, 1-2) had tied the game with 22 seconds left.

TOP 25 GAMES ON TAP >> Iowa is among seven top25 teams in action tonight, including No. 2 UCLA, and No. 9 USC, which play host to the Oregon schools. The Bruins (12-0) play host to Oregon tonight at 7 and Oregon State on Sunday (1 p.m.). The Trojans (10-1) face the Beavers tonight at 7 and the Ducks on Sunday at noon. The rematch between the Bruins and Trojans is Sunday, Jan. 14 at Galen Center at 2 p.m.