Braden Smith scored two of his game-high 22 points on a crucial steal and layup to help No. 5 Purdue escape with a 69-64 road win over Southern California on Saturday in Los Angeles.
After buoying his team with 18 first-half points, Smith went scoreless for more than 19 minutes following intermission. His lone made field goal in the second half came at a critical juncture, however.
With Purdue (17-1, 7-0 Big Ten) holding a 63-62 lead and USC looking for the go-ahead basket, Smith swiped the ball from Jaden Brownell. The Boilermakers’ guard raced down the court and finished the fast break under duress from Chad Baker-Mazara for a 65-62 advantage with 23 seconds left.
Smith added a pair of free throws after a dunk from USC’s Ezra Ausar, effectively putting the game away for Purdue.
The Trojans (14-4, 3-4) gave themselves an opportunity to score the win thanks to their second-half defense on Smith before the final flourish. The Trojans recovered from giving up makes on Smith’s first four 3-point attempts, pressuring the nation’s assists leader Smith into a season-high-tying six turnovers.
Kam Woods and Jordan Marsh, who shared some of the defensive responsibility against Smith, each made two steals.
The rest of the Boilermakers combined for just two turnovers, however, and Purdue finished a slight 12-10 edge on points off of takeaways. The Boilermakers forced 13 USC turnovers, including three Smith steals.
The Trojans also limited Purdue standout big man Trey Kaufman-Renn to five points on 2-of-8 shooting from the floor, but Oscar Cluff’s 19 points on 7-of-8 from the field picked up the slack.
Cluff added six rebounds and dished four assists.
Baker-Mazara led USC with 15 points. The Trojans’ season-long leading scorer came off the bench due to a neck injury that limited him in USC’s win over Maryland on Tuesday, but he played 33 minutes on Saturday.
Baker-Mazara shot just 1 of 7 from 3-point range, however, and the Trojans went 3 of 20 from long range as a team. Purdue shot 7 of 21 from beyond the arc.
Jacob Cofie, who knocked down one of USC’s three triples, posted a double-double with 13 points and a career-high 15 rebounds. Ausar added 11 points and eight rebounds in the loss.
–Field Level Media
