PHOENIX (AP) — Boogie Ellis hit four 3-pointers and finished with 19 points, Drew Peterson scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half and Southern California beat Colorado State 73-64 at the Jerry Colangelo Classic on Wednesday night.
Tre White added 10 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals for USC. Reese Dixon-Waters also scored 10 points.
Isaiah Rivera made two free throws to give the Rams a one-point lead before Ellis hit a 3-pointer to give USC the lead for good with 2:07 left in the first to spark a 22-5 run that spanned halftime and made it 46-30 with 14:40 remaining.
USC (10-3) has won six games in a row.
Patrick Cartier led the Rams with 22 points on 8-of-10 shooting and Rivera scored 12. Isaiah Stevens had 15 points and nine assists. Stevens and John Tonje, Colorado State’s leading scorers at 19.0 and 14.8 points per game, respectively, combined to score 21 points on 6-of-23 shooting, 0 for 11 from 3-point range.
Ellis, White and Dixon-Waters each hit a 3-pointer before Malik Thomas made two 3s 55 seconds apart to give the Trojans an 11-point lead midway through the first half. Colorado State responded with a 13-0 run to take a 23-21 lead with 5 minutes left before halftime after Cartier scored back-to-back baskets. USC went 0 for 6 from the field and committed eight turnovers before White threw down a dunk to put the Trojans back in front at 24-23 with 2:58 to go.
Cartier scored the first five points in a 9-0 spurt that cut Colorado State’s deficit to five points midway through the second half, but Ellis answered with a 3 and the Rams got no closer.
Colorado State (8-5), which went into the game ranked No. 5 nationally in field-goal percentage at 51.4%, shot just 38% (20 of 53) from the field and made 5 of 27 (19%) from 3-point range.
UP NEXT
Colorado State opens Mountain West Conference play next Wednesday at New Mexico.
USC returns to Pac-12 action at Washington on Dec. 30.
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