UC Irvine leads entire 2nd half, upsets No. 16 USC
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Devin Tillis scored five points in the final three minutes, including a 3-pointer with 37.4 seconds remaining, and UC Irvine upset No. 16 Southern California 70-60 on Tuesday night.
Justin Hohn led the Anteaters (2-1) with 25 points and Bent Leuchten added 19 as they led the entire second half. It was the fifth time in 49 games that UC Irvine beat a ranked team on the road.
It's the second straight year the Anteaters have taken down a ranked Pac-12 opponent away from home. They also won at Oregon last season.
Isaiah Collier scored 23 points and Harrison Hornery had 17 for USC (2-1), which was without guards Boogie Ellis (right ankle sprain) and Kobe Johnson (left knee discomfort) due to injury.
USC got within 61-60 with 2:49 remaining on Hornery's free throws before the Anteaters scored the final nine points. Tillis made a pair of free throws before drilling a 3-pointer from the corner for the pivotal basket.
UC Irvine led 29-26 at halftime and scored the first seven points of the second half. USC started to slowly whittle away and got within 43-41 with 15:04 remaining on a pair of free throws by Collier before the Anteaters pulled away again.
A 3-pointer by Hohn with 6:42 remaining gave UC Irvine a 57-47 advantage. The Trojans countered with six straight points, including a four-point play by Hornery.
THE TAKEAWAY
UC Irvine: This was the fourth win against a ranked opponent under coach Russell Turner and the first against USC. The Anteaters had an eight-point halftime lead two years ago but lost by five.
USC: Coach Andy Enfield's young squad looked disjointed without its floor leader in Ellis. The Trojans were held to 60 points after scoring at least 80 in each of the first two games this season.
UP NEXT
UC Irvine: Hosts Occidental College on Friday.
USC: Hosts Brown on Sunday.
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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball