ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Boogie Ellis scored 17 points on 8-of-14 shooting, Joshua Morgan added 13 and No. 24 Southern California beat St. Joseph's 70-55 on Thursday night at the Wooden Legacy.
Chevez Goodwin had 10 points and eight rebounds for USC (4-0).
Ellis scored seven points in a 19-4 run that made it 23-9 midway through the first half and the Trojans led the rest of the way.
Ejike Obinna was 9 of 13 from the field and finished with a career-high 18 points and 10 rebounds for St. Joseph’s (2-2). Taylor Funk added 12 points and eight rebounds.
Erik Reynolds II hit two 3-pointers and Funk added a third for the Hawks in the first four minutes of the second half to trim their deficit to 44-37. Isaiah Mobley, in the high-post, slipped a bounce pass to Morgan on the baseline for a two-handed dunk, Max Agbonkpolo made a jumper in the lane and Morgan added a layup to extend the lead 13 about 90 seconds later and the Hawks trailed by double figures the rest of the way.
Mobley, whose younger brother Evan was the No. 3 pick in the 2021 NBA draft, had just four points on 2-of-8 shooting but added 11 rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block.
The Trojans went into the game averaging 9.2 turnovers per game — eighth fewest in the NCAA this season — and committed seven Thursday and scored 16 points off 15 St. Joseph's turnovers.
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