LOS ANGELES — Boogie Ellis hit four 3-pointers and finished with 19 points, Drew Peterson added 15 points, eight rebounds and a career-high 12 assists and Joshua Morgan had a career-best game as USC beat Mount St. Mary’s, 83-74, Friday night at the Galen Center.
Morgan was 6 for 7 from the field and finished with career highs of 15 points and 12 rebounds. The 6-foot-11 junior added four blocked shots for the Trojans (3-1) and has 15 this season.
Peterson assisted on a layup by Ellis to close an 8-0 run that made it 59-44 with 9:20 left and the Trojans led by double figures until a 10-0 run by Mount St. Mary’s trimmed its deficit to 75-68 with 2:43 remaining but the Mountaineers got no closer.
USC took the lead for good at 24-22 on Morgan’s dunk with 6:18 left in the first half, and Peterson assisted on layups by Morgan and Tre White and then a 3-pointer by Ellis before his jumper capped an 11-2 run and gave the Trojans a 45-34 lead early in the second half.
White finished with 10 points.
Dakota Leffew scored 21 points on 7-of-13 shooting (4 for 5 from 3-point range), with four steals for Mount St. Mary’s (1-3). Malik Jefferson was 8 for 9 from the field and finished with 16 points, 11 rebounds, four steals and three blocks. Jalen Benjamin added 17 points and seven assists.
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USC travels to the Bahamas to play BYU on Wednesday at the Battle 4 Atlantis.
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