Boogie Ellis scored 27 of his career-high 31 points in the second half, including a 3-point dagger with 1:25 remaining, and Southern California handed visiting crosstown rival and No. 8-ranked UCLA its second consecutive loss in a 77-64 decision Thursday night in Los Angeles.
The Trojans (15-6, 7-3 Pac-12 Conference) trailed by 12 points at halftime but opened the second half on a 15-4 run to pull within a point less than six minutes into the second half. USC extended its run to 25-6 over the first 10:12 after intermission, taking a lead it never relinquished down the stretch.
In addition to his career scoring high, Ellis dished a team-high six assists. Kobe Johnson, who finished with 10 points, dished out another five assists. Drew Peterson scored 16 points for USC, which scored its first win over a top 10-ranked opponent since January 2017 — against UCLA.
UCLA (17-4, 8-2) suffered its second straight loss after winning its previous 14 games. Jaime Jaquez Jr. led UCLA with 15 points and eight rebounds. Tyger Campbell and David Singleton both scored 14 points, while Campbell passed out a game-high eight assists.
No. 1 Purdue 75, Michigan 70
Zach Edey scored 19 points and Fletcher Loyer added 17 to help the Boilermakers defeat the host Wolverines in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Purdue (20-1, 9-1 Big Ten) stretched its winning streak to seven games while securing the program’s first victory at Crisler Center since 2018. Edey grabbed a game-best nine rebounds, falling one board short of his eighth double-double in the past nine games.
Michigan (11-9, 5-4) stayed afloat behind the one-two punch of Hunter Dickinson and Kobe Bufkin. Dickinson had 21 points and Bufkin followed with 16 despite enduring an eight-minute stretch in the second half when he didn’t take a shot. Dickinson was the Wolverines’ top rebounder with seven as Purdue finished with a 34-26 edge on the glass.
No. 21 Florida Atlantic 85, Middle Tennessee 67
Johnell Davis scored a game-high 25 points to lead the Owls to a victory over the Blue Raiders in Boca Raton, Fla.
Florida Atlantic (20-1, 10-0 Conference USA) continued its breakthrough season, extending its program-record winning streak to 19. The Owls are one victory away from tying their all-time highest win total in a season.
Middle Tennessee (13-8, 6-4) had a four-game winning streak snapped. Eli Lawrence led the Blue Raiders with 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting.
— Field Level Media
