LOS ANGELES — The USC men’s basketball team blew a 14-point lead in the first half but made a 10-0 run of their own to begin the second half to seize control in a 62-56 win in a crosstown rivalry game at UCLA Saturday night.
The Bruins clawed back to tie the game at 34 at halftime but could not sustain that momentum in front of a sold-out crowd for the first time all season at Pauley Pavilion. The Trojans countered and began the second half on a 16-3 surge in the first 10 minutes after halftime, establishing a 50-37 lead with 9:41 to go. UCLA ended up shooting 28% in the second half, only making 7 of their final 25 shots.
However, a layup by sophomore forward Adem Bona and two free throws by freshman guard Sebastian Mack made it 60-53 with 1:30 to go. USC freshman guard Isaiah Collier made one of two free throws, which left the door open for UCLA, although they trailed 61-53 with 1:01 to go. UCLA freshman forward Berke Buyuktuncel missed a 3-pointer with 46 seconds to go. Mack drained a 3-pointer to make it a 62-56 game with 8.8 seconds to go, which ended up being the final score after USC inbounded the ball and ran out the final seconds.
Senior guard Boogie Ellis scored USC’s first seven points on his way to a game-high 24 points and five rebounds. Collier had 11 points. Junior guard Kobe Johnson added 10 points. The Trojans, who split the season series 1-1 with the Bruins with each team winning on the other’s home floor, improved to 11-16 overall and 5-11 in the Pac-12.
Bona led UCLA (14-13 overall, 9-7 4th place in Pac-12) with 14 points and three rebounds. Mack had 12 points. Junior forward Lazar Stefanovic had 10 points and six rebounds. Freshman center Aday Mara was a bright spot in the second half. He scored all 10 of his points after halftime, which kept UCLA within striking distance.
Bona went inside early and drew an early foul on USC senior center Joshua Morgan with 19:20 left in the first half. The 6-foot-10 power forward made both free…
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