USC upsets No. 19 Auburn behind stingy defense

Midway through the first half of USC’s men’s basketball game Sunday, the Trojan Marching Band had one task — play the Fight Song during a timeout. 

It’s a simple assignment that the band is fully capable of, having practiced hundreds of times before. There was just one problem: Auburn fans had their own chant to sing.

As the marching band performed Fight On, traveling Auburn fans overshadowed the noise with their War Eagle chant. The uproar dominated Galen Center, as Auburn fans in opposite corners of the arena made noise. It ended with a fan yelling “F— USC.”

USC blocked it all out. Sophomore guard Kobe Johnson waved goodbye to those traveling fans as the Trojans upset No. 19 Auburn with a 74-71 victory, their first win over a ranked opponent this season.

“We’re a young team developing and this showed that we can compete,” said Head Coach Andy Enfield in a post game press conference. “You have to beat good teams to have a successful season and I’m proud of our guys because we really improved.”

Enfield said Sunday’s win was the biggest of the season, by far. USC leaned on its defense, forcing 23 turnovers, including 14 in the second half. The Trojans had 13 steals, including 6 from Johnson.

Senior guard Boogie Ellis led the night in scoring with a career-high 28 points, while Johnson and redshirt junior forward Joshua Morgan added 10 each. Ellis shot 3-for-13 in the Trojans’ previous game, but came out aggressive and had key free throws to ice the game late.  

“Boogie is incredible in all aspects of the game. He defended, he was physical, he was quick, he was aggressive on offense, he was aggressive on defense,” Enfield said. “I thought he played his best game of the year.”

Up by six points with just 41 seconds left, the Trojans fouled Auburn freshman guard Tre Donaldson on a missed three-point attempt. Donaldson hit two free throws only to miss his last, but got his own rebound and put up a shot attempt just a few feet from the basket. With perfect timing, freshman guard Tre White swooped in to block Donaldson’s second-chance layup, which would have made it a three-point game. 

The Trojans’ redshirt junior forward Joshua Morgan then missed two free throws on the other end, giving the Tigers another opportunity down just four points with 24 seconds remaining. Donaldson wound up missing a three-pointer and Auburn turned it over on the offensive rebound. 

A foul game played out only for the Tigers to have a chance to tie the game with 2.8 seconds left. A stumbling Auburn junior guard K.D. Johnson’s half-court heave wasn’t good, and USC had its biggest win of the season yet. 

“We needed a big resume game for March. It gives us a lot of confidence knowing we can play with one of the best teams in the country,” Ellis said. “We just got to build off of it and trust one another and keep getting better.”

Early into the second half though, a win didn’t seem to be in the cards. 

The Trojans’ offense went without a field goal from 3:39 in the first half to 15:23 in the second half. Auburn went up by six with 16:50 left in the game and seemed to be in cruise control. But, a stingy USC defense turned the game around. 

Turnovers piled up in bunches, enough to make the War Eagle shriek with terror. Auburn coughed up 14 alone in the second half, just one below their season average of 13 per game. Once the Tigers’ lead reached six points, USC held them to two field goals across the next seven minutes. 

“We focus a lot on defense and coming into this game, it was going to be a very physical game,” Johnson said. “We had to match their physicality and I think we did that. And with that we caused a lot of turnovers, forced them to make some bad passes, take some bad shots.”

A sloppy Auburn defense put the Trojans into the double bonus for most of the second half, too. The bonus became a lifeline for a USC offense that, at times, flustered.

The Trojans started the game strong on the offensive side of the court. They hit four of their first five shots from the field while holding Auburn without a point for over four minutes. USC’s defense also forced five turnovers in the first six minutes of play. 

The two teams soon switched places, though, as the Trojans’ offense cooled down while Auburn’s took off. The Tigers went on a 10-2 run across three minutes for their first lead of the game. USC responded soon with its own run. Turnovers continued to be a problem for Auburn, and the Trojans momentarily took control of the game after a 15-6 run of their own. 

Down by eight with just under seven minutes left in the first half, Auburn entered halftime up four. The Trojans’ offense stalled and the Tigers feasted on them, going on a 12-2 spree to close the half. 

It wasn’t enough momentum to end the game though, as USC came from behind to win. A triumphant USC team will face Colorado State at the Jerry Colangelo Classic in Phoenix, Ariz. on Wednesday.