Senior guards Drew Peterson and Boogie Ellis lead USC past Mount St. Mary’s 83-74

USC Trojans #13 Drew Peterson (G) being defended by Mount. St. Mary’s #11 George Tinsley at the Galen Center. Photo by Jerry Kelly/TGSportstv1.

LOS ANGELES, CA - The USC Trojans led in scoring by senior guards Boogie Ellis with 19-points, Drew Peterson with 15-points, and forward Joshua Morgan with 15-points improved their record to (3-1), after beating the Mount St.Mary's 83-74 at the Galen Center.

It wasn't the Trojans' best shooting night, 25-68 from the floor for 38.6 percent, 7-22 from behind the arc for 36.0 percent, but getting to the free throw line and making 24 out of 32 for 75.0 percent was a key factor for their win.

Malik Jefferson gave the Mountaineers a 2-0 lead with his jump shot before the Trojans' Tre White tied the game 2-2 in the first half. USC's head coach Andy Enfield called a 30-second time-out after Mt. Saint Mary's went up 6-2.

Drew Peterson's jump shot in the paint had the Trojans trailing 6-4. Boogie Ellis would make a three-pointer that tied the game 11-11.

USC got their first lead, 13-12, with a two-hand dunk by Joshua Morgan. Morgan gave the Trojans a 15-14 lead with his put-back-basket.

Jalen Benjamin would knock down a three-point shot to give the lead back to the Mountaineers, 17-15, with 9:43 left in the first half.

Kobe Johnson's layup gave the Trojans a 22-20 lead. Morgan's dunk had USC leading 24-22 with 6:18 left in the first half.

Reese Dixon-Waters' left-hand layup gave the Trojans a four-point lead, 26-22. Morgan would continue his high-flying act with another dunk increasing USC's lead to 28-24.

The Trojans ended the first half leading 32-28, with Morgan scoring 9-points to lead the Trojans in scoring, followed by Ellis with 6-points and Peterson with 5-points.

Dakota Leffew led the Mountaineers in scoring with 7-points, Malik Jefferson 6-points, and Deandre Thomas with 5-points.

The Mountaineers trail 32-30 in the second half with a hook shot by Jefferson. White would make a layup to give the Trojans a 38-32 lead. Jefferson would score on a layup making the score 38-34.

#5 Boogie Ellis's (G) three-point shot in front of his bench gave him 1000 points in his college career at USC. Photo by Jerry Kelly/TGSportstv1.

Ellis gave the Trojans a 43-34 lead with his three-point shot and reached a milestone in his career, scoring 1000 points. Peterson would make a turn-around jump shot in the paint to make the score 45-34.

"I'm very proud of Boogie reaching 1000 points in his career, said USC head coach Andy Enfield. " You can never question his work ethic or his heart."

Jedy Cordilia would make two free throws, and the Mountaineers now trailed 45-36 with 14:04 left in the game. The Trojans led by eleven points, 49-38, after Thomas made two free throws.

USC led 49-42 after Mt. Saint Mary's Jaylin Gibson made two free throws. Mt. Saint Mary's trailed by ten points, 59-49, after a three-point shot by Josh Reaves.

The Trojans were up 67-53 with another three-pointer by Peterson. White and Peterson had USC leading 72-56 with their back-to-back layups.

Ellis's three-pointer gave the Trojans a 75-58 lead with 4:40 left in the game. The Mountaineers found themselves down by ten points, 75-65, after a layup by Benjamin.

Peterson would throw an alley-op pass to Morgan for a dunk that gave the Trojans a 79-70. Two free throws by Ellis with 13 seconds left in the game would seal the victory for USC, winning 83-74 at the Galen Center.

The Mountaineers were led in scoring by Leffew with 21-points, Benjamin with 17-points, and Jefferson with 16-points.