Boogie Ellis scores career-high as USC’s late rally falls short against high-powered Arizona

For the past two weeks, as the pieces finally started to fit for USC, Boogie Ellis had been the glue, a once-streaky point guard finally coming into his own as the engine of a suddenly soaring offense.

But as those pieces began to come apart Thursday for USC, its senior point guard was left to drive a sputtering offense alone, firing one 3-pointer after another, emptying his tank until only fumes remained. It wouldn’t be enough, as USC eventually broke down in spite of its star, losing to Arizona, 87-81.

An otherwise lifeless offense wouldn’t keep Ellis from trying to push the Trojans along entirely on his own. He’d set another career-high in the process, scoring 35 points and knocking down six 3’s in an heroic effort.

Still, it was no use. With each answer, Arizona would offer its own full-throated response, using all of its weapons to overpower USC, which has now locked in the No. 3 seed in next week’s Pac-12 tournament.

The Trojans meanwhile were left with merely Ellis, who had little help elswhere. Dealing with a back injury, Drew Peterson finished with just five points. Among USC’s starters only Kobe Johnson managed more.

This was hardly the kind of performance the Trojans would’ve hoped for, with a chance to make a major statement with its tournament resume.

Everything had been clicking for USC coming into Thursday. The Trojans rolled into the final week of the regular season on a four-game win streak, finally firing on all cylinders, finally sitting on the right side of the NCAA tournament bubble.

They were scorching from deep during that stretch, knocking down nearly half of their last 100 attempts from 3-point range. They were dominating defensively, holding those four opponents to just 37%. And their senior point guard was playing some of the best basketball of his college career, just as it was winding down.

USC forward VIncent Iwuchukwu, below, and Arizona forward Azuolas Tubelis reach for a loose ball during the second half on Thursday at the Galen Center.

(Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)

But this week, Ellis still couldn’t shake the bitter taste left over from USC’s defeat in Tucson. He vowed to be more aggressive, carrying the Trojans on his back if he had to.

He wasted no time in carrying out that vow Thursday. Ellis came out firing confidently, scoring 11 of USC’s first 16 points.

The problem for USC was no one else got the memo. Drew Peterson, the Trojans’ second-leading scorer, had zero points at halftime. The rest of USC’s starting lineup had combined to shoot 1 of 9.

And by that time, Ellis’ aggressive approach was already having unintended consequences. The point guard secured his third foul with more than two minutes still remaining in the first half.

USC once again had no answer for Arizona’s size, even as it cycled through several different lineups in search of one. Arizona’s Azuolas Tubelis had his way with the Trojans frontcourt, forcing USC to continuing adjusting its approach – to little avail. Tubelis finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds, once again punishing USC at every level of its defense.

The Trojans may see the Wildcats again soon, with Arizona locked in as the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament. They’ll need more than Ellis to make the statement they intended to make on Thursday night.