by Mike Cranston The Associated Press
Boulder, Colo. – Chavez Goodwin scored all of his 18 points and 14 rebounds in the second half, Max Agboncapolo added 11 points and three of four free throws in the final 15 seconds, and No. 16 USC ended a three-year disappointment. With a 61-58 win against Colorado on Thursday night.
Isaiah Mobley had 13 points and six rebounds and Boogie Ellis overcame foul trouble to score 11 for the Trojans (15-2, 5-2 Pac-12 on aggregate), who had dropped the Buffalos seven in a row (12 -5, 4 -3).
Jabari Walker scored 13 points for Colorado, but Drew Peterson had passed the ball by seven seconds and Buffalo by three. Ivan Bate scored seven of his 11 points in the first half, and Tristan da Silva also scored 11 in eight games in Colorado’s second loss.
USC, a 61.3% free-throw shooting team coming in, had 12 of 17 hits and enough down the stretch in their first game since dropping 11 places in the AP Top 25.
The Buffalos were without senior guard and leading defender Eliza Parquet (legs), who started every game in December 2019. Sophomore Nick Clifford replaced him as coach Tad Boyle adjusted his starting lineup for the first time this season.
Clifford had a strong dunk in the middle of the second half and his 3-pointer took 8:16 to put Colorado ahead 47-43.
Colorado dominated inside for most of the night, struggling to finish on the rim and going 47–32. Walker missed a lay-up with 41 seconds that would have put Buffalo ahead.
The Trojans shot just 37% off the field, as no team was leading by more than seven points. Colorado made up 31% of its shots.
USC coach Andy Enfield was heavily criticized as they were introduced into an increasingly tense rivalry. It dates back to 2018, when Boyle, after defeating Arizona, said he “absolutely” took extra satisfaction in beating up a school that was involved in an FBI corruption investigation.
A week later, Enfield, whose school was also the subject of investigation, took a timeout against Buffaloes with 21 seconds leading by 12 seconds. Boyle said he would never forget what Anfield did. Neither are the Colorado fans, who gave some of their biggest cheer during Anfield’s technical foul at the start of the second half.
Colorado dominated the series, including a win in last year’s Pac-12 tournament semifinals.
big picture
USC: The Trojans made the main plays under stretch a week after disappointing defeats to Stanford and Oregon. USC had lost two of three after a 13–0 start.
Colorado: The Buffaloes’ flimsy NCAA Tournament hopes were dealt another blow as they fell 0-4 against ranked teams.
next
USC visits Utah on Saturdays at 3:30 p.m. PT.
9 UCLA on Saturdays at 6 p.m. PT.
There is much more to come on this story.