LOS ANGELES (AP) — Boogie Ellis scored 20 of his 28 points in the second half and hit 6-of-8 from 3-point range Thursday night to help Southern California beat Arizona State 81-73.
Ellis went 4-for 4-from behind the arc in the second half, as USC outscored ASU 49-41 after the two were tied at the break. ASU has dropped four of its last five games with one more on the schedule before the Pac-12 Tournament next week.
USC (13-17, 7-12 Pac-12) has won back-to-back games — tied for its longest win streak of the season — for the fourth time. Kobe Johnson added 15 points for DJ Rodman scored 11 for the Trojans.
Jose Perez scored 19 of his 25 points in the second half for Arizona State (14-16, 8-11). Adam Miller scored 18 points and Frankie Collins added 11, six assists and four steals.
Shawn Phillips Jr. scored five consecutive points, capped by his dunk that gave Arizona State a 51-49 lead with 11:45 to play but Ellis hit three 3-pointers — and Oziyah Sellers made another — in a 12-2 run that made it 61-53 with 8:54 left. The Trojans led the rest of the way.
The Sun Devils shot 50% (24-of-48) from the field and 22-of-30 from the free-throw line but made just 3-of-18 from behind the arc. USC made 12-of-24 from 3-point range.
Arizona State plays its finale Saturday when the Sun Devils visit UCLA.
USC wraps up its regular season when it plays host to No. 5 Arizona on Saturday. The Wildcats secured the final Pac-12 regular season title with a win over UCLA and a Washington State loss to Washington on Thursday.
