Drew Peterson scored 15 of his game-high 20 points in the second half to buoy Southern California to a come-from-behind, 59-57 defeat of Vermont on Tuesday in Los Angeles.
The Trojans (2-1) overcame a sluggish start and 3-of-16 3-point shooting on the night to rally from an eight-point, second-half deficit.
Peterson’s big second half and strong all-around performance — which also included eight rebounds, eight assists and two steals — helped USC battle back. So, too, did Peterson’s backcourt mate, Boogie Ellis.
Ellis scored eight of his 10 points after intermission, and he delivered a 3-pointer on the Trojans’ otherwise cold-shooting night from beyond the arc at a critical juncture. He connected on an attempt from deep with 1:19 remaining to give USC a six-point cushion.
The Trojans needed the buffer.
Vermont (1-3) answered with a Finn Sullivan 3-pointer to cut the deficit in half. After a USC shot-clock violation, Sullivan shot a would-be game-tying attempt with seven seconds remaining, but the ball rimmed off.
USC’s Kobe Johnson grabbed the rebound and scored his only points of the night on two ensuing free throws that put the game out of Vermont’s reach.
Sullivan led the way with 17 points for Vermont, which concluded a three-game road swing through California 0-3. Sullivan also grabbed six rebounds.
Dylan Penn added 11 points for Vermont, but USC limited the Catamounts’ leading scorer coming into Tuesday’s contest, Aaron Deloney, to just three points on 1-of-4 shooting from the floor.
Deloney committed two early fouls and was limited by foul trouble for the remainder of the game.
Reese Dixon-Waters joined Peterson and Ellis in double-figure scoring for USC with 13 points despite shooting just 4 of 12 from the floor. The Trojans hit only 19 of 53 from the floor (35.8 percent) while Vermont shot 21 of 57 (36.8 percent), but USC’s 18-of-23 success at the free-throw line against just 7-of-11 for the Catamounts made the difference.
–Field Level Media