Boogie Ellis scored 28 points, Kobe Johnson made a career-high six steals to contribute to No. 19 Auburn’s 23 total turnovers and Southern California scored a 74–71 win on Sunday, Dec. 18, in Los Angeles.
USC (9–3) pulled ahead 50–49 on a pair of Joshua Morgan free throws with 10:31 remaining in regulation, taking a lead it held for the remainder of the game, although the Trojans never led by more than six points.
Auburn (9–2) stayed close thanks in part to hitting twice as many 3-pointers, sinking 8 of 23 shots from deep compared to USC’s 4 of 13.
However, the Tigers could not overcome their multitude of turnovers, which the Trojans converted into 23 points.
That effectively determined the outcome, as Auburn finished with 18 points on just 12 USC turnovers.
Johnson’s ball-hawking resulted in his fifth game of at least three takeaways this season and came two weeks after he matched his previous career high of five that he had set a season ago.
His last steal was perhaps the most important. With 16 seconds remaining and the Trojans holding a four-point lead, Johnson stripped Johni Broome after an offensive rebound.
The change in possession led to a pair of Johnson free throws, the final two points of his 10 on the night, and gave USC a six-point cushion it needed every bit of down the stretch.
Auburn scored six points at the foul line in the final nine seconds to cut the Trojans’ lead to one point, a margin reached after Ellis split a pair of attempts with seven seconds remaining—a rare miss on a day USC shot 22 of 27 from the charity stripe.
Ellis tacked on a pair of makes at the foul line with two seconds left to close out the game. Joshua Morgan added 10 points for USC in the win.
Broome led Auburn with 16 points and eight rebounds before fouling out. Tre Donaldson scored 12 points off the bench before also fouling out.
