SEATTLE — December was a good month for the USC basketball team.
Boogie Ellis scored 27 points and USC earned its seventh straight victory, pulling away from Washington late to earn an 80-67 road win on Friday night and complete an unbeaten December.
Ellis scored 16 points in the final 10 minutes of the second half, answering a run that had put Washington in front by three points. Ellis’ point total matched his output in an 82-76 victory over BYU in November and was a point shy of his season best of 28 in a 74-71 victory over No. 19 Auburn on Dec. 18.
The Trojans (11-3 overall, 3-0 Pac-12) went 6-0 in December, including three straight to open conference play.
Washington trailed by seven at intermission but quickly erased that deficit in the second half. Freshman Keyon Menifield scored on a pair of layups and Cole Bajema hit the first of his four second-half 3-pointers to get within one, 42-41 three minutes into the half.
The Huskies then used a 10-0 run fueled by a pair of Bajema 3-pointers and a pair of baskets by Menifield to take a 58-55 lead with 10: 28 left in the game. But Ellis answered by scoring nine points during an 11-0 run that put the Trojans back in front, 66-58.
Ellis finished shooting 10 for 19 from the field, including 4 for 8 from 3-point range, and went 3 for 3 from the line, adding seven rebounds, two assists and three steals. Drew Peterson added 17 points and Tre White contributed 12 points and grabbed eight boards.
Keion Brooks paced the Huskies (9-5, 1-2) with 22 points and seven rebounds. Menifield added 18 points and Bajema was 4 for 9 from behind the arc and contributed 12 points.
UP NEXT
USC plays at Washington State on Sunday at noon.
Washington hosts No. 11 UCLA on Sunday at 4 p.m.
More to come on this story.
