Boogie Ellis leads USC past Auburn 74-71 at the Galen Center

USC Trojans #5 Boogie Ellis (G) scored 28 points against the Auburn Tigers’ defense at the Galen Center. Photo by Jerry Kelly/TGSportstv1.

LOS ANGELES, CA - In a Pac-12 Conference and SEC Conference showdown, the USC Trojans (9-3) upset the No. 19 rank Auburn Tigers (9-2) at the Galen Center 74-71 with some clutch free throw shooting by Boogie Ellis.

As a team, the Trojans made 22 of their 27 free throws, while Ellis made eight of his ten free throws and scored 28 points to lead the Trojans in scoring, followed by Kobe Johnson and Joshua Morgan, each with 10 points.

"Our team has improved dramatically since the Bahamas," USC coach Andy Enfield said. "This is our biggest win of the year by far. We've got a young team developing, and this showed we can compete."

Johni Broome led Auburn in scoring with 16 points, and Tre Donaldson with 12 points.

Ellis's three-pointer gave USC a 5-3 lead in the first half. Auburn tied the game 5-5 with a three-pointer by Jaylin Williams. Kobe Johnson gave the Trojans a 9-5 lead.

The White would make two free throws to give the Trojans an 11-5 lead. Auburn trailed 11-7 after a jump shot by Tre Donaldson. The Tigers were down 11-10 with a three-pointer by Donaldson.

Auburn Tigers #22 Allen Flanigan (G) three-point shot from the top of the key at the Galen Center. Photo by Jerry Kelly/TGSportstv1.

Auburn would go up 15-13 with a three-point shot by Allen Flanigan, and USC head coach Andy Enfield called a time-out with 11:43 left in the first half. Reese Dixon-Waters would make a layup to tie the game 17-17. USC led 21-17 with a dunk by Drew Peterson.

Ellis would go up for a monster dunk, and the fans jumped out of their feet, with the Trojans leading by seven points, 28-21, and the Tigers called a time-out. Auburn trailed 31-25 after Williams made a jump shot.

Auburn trail 33-29 with a layup by Johni Broome with 4:00 minutes left in the first half. The Tigers trailed by three points, 35-32, with a three-pointer by Broome.

Auburn tied the game 35-35 with a three-pointer by Donaldson. The Tigers would lead 37-35 when K.D. Johnson made three free throws after being fouled on his shot.

Auburn would lead 39-35 at halftime after a put-back- basket by Dylan Cardwell. Broome led Auburn in scoring with 11 points and Donaldson with 10 points. Ellis led USC in scoring with 14 points.

USC Trojans #24 Joshua Morgan (F) two handed dunk against the Auburn Tigers. Photo by Jerry Kelly/TGSportstv1.

The Tigers led in the second half 41-35 with two free throws by Chris Moore. USC went on a 7-2 run and trailed 43-42 with a three-pointer by Tre White. USC retook the lead 44-43 with a two-hand dunk by Joshua Morgan.

Johnson would make two free throws to give USC a 46-43 lead. The Tigers tied the game 46-46 with a three-pointer by Yohan Traore. USC would lead 48-46 with a layup by Malik Thomas.

Auburn would regain the lead 49-48 after a jump shot by Zep Jasper with 11:53 left in the game. Morgan would give the lead back to USC, 50-49, after making two free throws.

Drew Peterson stole the ball and passed the ball to Ellis for a reverse layup, and USC led 52-49. Johnson would give USC a five-point lead, 56-51. Ellis would make one free throw making the score 57-51.

Auburn trailed 57-54 with a free throw by Williams. White would make a layup to give USC a 59-54 lead. The Tigers trailed 61-59 after one free throw by Broome with 4:03 left in the game.

USC Trojans #0 Kobe Johnson (F) trying to dribble pass Auburn Tigers #3 Tre Donaldson. Photo by Jerry Kelly/TGSportstv1.

Johnson would knock down two free throws to give USC a 63-59 lead. The Tigers trailed 63-61 with a dunk by Broome. USC led by six points, 67-61, with two free throws by Ellis.

Allen Flanigan would make a three-point shot, and Auburn now trailed 67-64 with 2:10 left in the game. The basket by Flanigan was reviewed and changed to a two-point basket, and USC led 67-63.

USC led 69-63 with a jump shot by Ellis. Donaldson would make two free to have Auburn trailing 69-65 with 42.2 seconds left in the game. USC was up 71-65 with 13 seconds left in the game.

Chris Moore and K.D. Johnson would make four free throws that had Auburn down 71-69. The Trojans led 72-69 after Ellis was fouled on an inbound pass and made one of his two free throws. Auburn trailed by one point, 72-71 after Johnson was fouled and made two free throws.

"I'm at my best when I'm aggressive getting to the paint and looking for my teammates," Ellis said. "We're at our best when our guards are flying around, taking charges. We attacked them."

With about 2 seconds left in the game, Ellis would make two free throws to give USC a 74-71 edge. Auburn had a chance to tie the game, but a three-point shot attempt by Johnson came up short to end the game.

Auburn bench outscored the USC bench 34-13, but a key factor for the victory for USC only committed 12 turnovers compared to the 23 by the Tigers.