The USC Trojans forward (3) Vincent Iwuchukwu congratulates teammate guard Kobe Johnson (0) at the Galen Center in Los Angeles after defeating the Stanford Cardinal (@USC_Hoops photo)

By Daniel Dullum
Saturday, February 18, 2023

Boogie Ellis enjoyed a career night for Southern California on Saturday, as the Trojans beat Stanford 85-75 in men’s basketball at Galen Center.

Ellis, a senior guard, recorded career highs with 33 points, seven assists and six 3-pointers. His 33 points were the most for a USC player since Onyeka Okongwu scored 33 on Nov, 19, 2019.

The Trojans (19-8 overall, 11-5 Pac-12) won their 14th straight home game and remains in third place in the conference standings, Ellis had six of USC’s 13 3-pointers.

Drew Peterson hit 8-of-14 from the field and scored 21 points to go with seven rebounds. Reese Dixon-Waters, back from missing four games due to injury, scored 12 points, and contributed three rebounds and two assists.

Harrison Ingram led the Cardinal with 15 points and a game-high nine rebounds in Stanford’s only regular-season meeting with the Trojans. Michael Jones was next with 14 points, while Spencer Jones and Brandon Angel added 11 points apiece. Michael O’Connell had nine points and a game-high seven assists.

Stanford (11-16 overall, 5-11 Pac-12) jumped to a 9-2 lead early, before the Trojans took control of the game with a 16-2 run. After the Cardinal pulled to within two points, Ellis hit a pair of 3s, sparking an 11-0 run that gave USC a 41-30 halftime lead.

While Stanford outscored the Trojans 45-44 in the second half, USC led by no less than seven points while connecting on 53.8 percent of its field goal attempts in the last 20 minutes.

There were a couple of pluses for Stanford – the Cardinal outscored USC 38-22 in the paint with 13 of those points coming on second chances. Stanford shot 46 percent from the field, including 40 percent (8 of 20) behind the arc.

The Cardinal return to Maples Pavilion for their final two home games of the season, hosting Washington State on Thursday and Washington on Saturday.