USC ends road drought, beats L.A. rival UCLA

Boogie Ellis scored 24 points, and Southern California led nearly wire-to-wire en route to a 62-56 road win over crosstown rival UCLA in Los Angeles on Saturday.

The Trojans (11-16, 5-11 Pac-12) overwhelmed the Bruins defensively, holding UCLA to just 18-of-54 shooting from the floor, including 4-of-19 from 3-point range.

Ellis made nearly as many 3-pointers by himself, going 3-of-7 from deep to pace the Trojans to an 8-of-18 night. Ellis eclipsed 1,900 career points in USC's first road win since beating Alabama State on Dec. 19.

UCLA's Dylan Andrews, who entered with a streak of seven consecutive games scoring in double-figures, went scoreless, missing all seven of his shots from the floor.

USC also forced 15 turnovers, one more than UCLA committed in the previous three games combined. The defensive effort led to lengthy Bruins scoring droughts in both halves, during which the Trojans built double-digit-point leads.

USC held UCLA to just seven points over a seven-minute stretch in the first half, during which the Trojans jumped to a 14-point lead.

The Bruins (14-13, 9-7) ended the half with a 15-1 run that tied the game at 34-34 at the break. But USC scored the first 10 points of the second half and built a lead that only dipped to fewer than seven points in the closing seconds.

The Trojans allowed just five points over the first 11:46 after intermission.

Kobe Johnson, who scored 10 points, helped key the defense with four steals. Isaiah Collier and DJ Rodman each made three steals, while Collier added 11 points and Rodman nine.

Adem Bona led UCLA with 14 points, but was limited to 24 minutes due to foul trouble. Sebastian Mack scored 12 points despite shooting just 3-of-10 from the floor.

Lazar Stefanovic, who shot 3-of-13 from the field, finished with 10 points for UCLA.