The USC Trojans couldn’t muster a comeback against the Arizona Wildcats, falling at the Galen Center in an 87-81 final on Thursday night.
Boogie Ellis exploded again with 35 points and six 3-pointers, and Reese Dixon-Waters added 17 as Kobe Johnson added 14 points,
Drew Peterson injured his back and scored just 5 points on 2-9 from the field. Yet, somehow, USC made it a close game.
However, an issue came back: The lack of depth for USC. Tre White struggled and scored just 2 points on 1-6 shooting from the field.
The only other reserve to get a basket was Kijani Wright, who scored 4 points, all from the free-throw line.
With the regular season nearly over and the Pac-12 Tournament on the horizon, USC needs to find a way to get more quality minutes from the bench, especially after a concerning back injury to Drew Peterson.
On top of all of that, Vincent Iwuchukwu was nowhere to be found, finishing scoreless on 0-2 from the field with three rebounds and a pair of assists.
If USC wants to make some noise in the Pac-12 Tournament and do some damage in the Big Dance, the Trojans need help from the others who aren’t in the starting lineup. They get another chance to finish strong with a home game against Arizona State on Saturday.
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