Joshua Morgan's block seals USC's win over Utah

Field Level Media|published: Fri 16th February, 01:35 2024

Feb 15, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans forward Joshua Morgan (24) gets a rebound with guard Boogie Ellis (5) against Utah Utes center Keba Keita (13) during the first half at Galen Center. credits: Alex Gallardo-USA TODAY Sports

Joshua Morgan blocked Deivon Smith's tying layup attempt with six seconds left to help USC emerge with a 68-64 victory over Utah in Pac-12 play on Thursday night in Los Angeles.

With USC leading by two with 11.5 seconds left, Boogie Ellis missed the front end of a one-and-one situation. Smith drove the other way and appeared to have a clean path for a layup before Morgan slid over and blocked the shot.

DJ Rodman grabbed the rebound and went the other way to score on a layup with 0.3 seconds left as the Trojans (10-15, 4-10) won for just the second time in their past 10 games.

Isaiah Collier led USC with 15 points and added three steals. Rodman had 12 points, Ellis added 11 points and a game-high four steals, and Morgan had four blocked shots.

Smith had 19 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for the Utes (15-10, 6-8), who lost for the fifth time in the past six games. Branden Carlson had 15 points and seven rebounds.

Utah trailed most of the contest but a layup by Gabe Madsen and a hook shot by Carlson pulled the Utes within 66-64 with 2:01 remaining.

Utah had a chance to take the lead but Madsen turned the ball over with a pass out of bounds with 17.5 seconds left.

USC shot 40.6 percent from the field, including 5 of 25 from 3-point range.

The Utes connected on just 36.7 percent of their shots and were 4 of 21 from behind the arc while falling to 0-6 in Pac-12 road games.

The Utes trailed by nine early in the second half before using a 15-4 surge to take a 51-49 lead. Cole Bajema made a 3-pointer with 13:05 left in the game to put Utah ahead.

The Utes then went cold and missed 10 straight field-goal attempts over the next 8:01.

The Trojans made an 11-1 run during one stretch of the Utah drought to take a 60-52 lead on Kobe Johnson's layup with 7:02 remaining.

But the Utes trailed just 62-58 after Carlson bulled his way to a layup with 5:04 left.

USC led by as many as 13 in the first half before settling for a 34-29 lead at the break.

—Field Level Media

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