National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Southern California 84, Colorado 65
When: 9:00 PM ET, Thursday, February 23, 2023
Where: CU Events Center, Boulder, Colorado
Officials: # Randy Helmerman, # Deldre Carr, # Gerry Pollard
Attendance: 6638

Boogie Ellis scored 21 points, Reese Dixon-Waters and Kobe Johnson had 15 points each, and Southern California beat Colorado 84-65 in Boulder, Colo., on Thursday night.

Drew Peterson added 11 points and Tre White finished with 10 for USC (20-8, 12-5 Pac-12 Conference). The Trojans have won three straight.

KJ Simpson scored 18 points and Luke O'Brien had 12 for Colorado (15-14, 7-11).

The Trojans led 18-16 midway through the first half but started to pull away. Ellis made a layup, Peterson fed Johnson for a 3-pointer and then hit a jumper to give Southern Cal a nine-point lead.

Ellis hit a 3-pointer that made it 38-23 with 4:42 left, the Buffaloes trimmed their deficit to 10 a minute later but the Trojans took a 43-30 lead into the break.

Southern California quickly increased the lead to start the second half. White and Johnson had dunks, Dixon-Waters hit a jumper and Ellis split a pair of free throws that gave the Trojans a 53-36 lead with 14:59 left.

Quincy Allen made a 3-pointer to stop USC's momentum, Peterson answered with a layup to make it 55-39 when Colorado made a push to get back into the game.

Ethan Wright made a pair of 3-pointers 28 seconds apart and Lawson Lovering dunked in an 8-0 Buffaloes run that got them within eight. Ellis hit a jumper and Allen made one of two free throws to make it 57-48.

The teams traded baskets to keep it a nine-point game, but the Trojans started to extend the lead.

Dixon-Waters made a free throw, Kijani Wright tipped in an Ellis miss and Ellis then made a layup to force a Colorado timeout.

USC kept the momentum, with Dixon-Waters sinking two free throws, Johnson converting a three-point play and Peterson hitting a layup to make it 73-53.

The Buffaloes went on a 9-2 run over a span of 2:33 to cut the lead to 75-62 and had a chance to get closer but Simpson missed a layup and the Trojans closed it out.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Southern California   Colorado
Boogie Ellis 21 Scoring KJ Simpson 18
Drew Peterson 6 Assists KJ Simpson 5
Kobe Johnson 7 Rebounds Lawson Lovering 7
Boogie Ellis 5 Free Throws Made Luke O'Brien 3
Kobe Johnson 2 Steals KJ Simpson 4
Joshua Morgan 3 Blocks Quincy Allen 4
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Southern California 84 56.9 8-19 10-17 12 36 4 5 9
Colorado 65 36.4 6-28 11-15 12 28 6 8 6