Phoenix, Ariz. – Michael Devoe scored a game-high 25 points and led a second-half comeback that got Georgia Tech within six points late in the second half, but No. 10/9 Southern California used balanced scoring and made 9-of-18 from three-point range for a 67-53 victory in the Jerry Colangelo Classic.
Tech dropped its fourth consecutive game and fell to 5-5 on the season, with a pair of home games coming up before its Christmas break, while the Trojans remained undefeated at 12-0.
Devoe and Jordan Usher, who scored 11 points, got the Yellow Jackets off to a fast start in the game. Devoe scoring eight and Usher six to give Tech a 14-8 lead eight and a half minutes into the game. USC outscored the Jackets 25-4 over the next eight minutes, however, getting five of their three-pointers in the stretch. Tech used a closing 6-0 run to trail 33-24 at the half.
Boogie Ellis, who led the Trojans with 16 points, scored eight of them in the first 10 minutes of the second half, helping USC open a 53-37 lead, its biggest of the game, at the 10:27 mark.
Tech battled back with a 10-0 run highlighted by three-pointers by Devoe and freshman Dallan “Deebo” Coleman, getting back to within 53-47 with 6:13 to go, but could get no closer.
Devoe hit 9-of-22 shots from the floor with a pair of threes in the game, but the Yellow Jackets hit just 32.8 percent overall, a season-low, and 5-of-19 from three-point range.
Five Trojans reached double digits, with Drew Peterson scoring 14, Chevez Goodwin tallying 13, and Ethan Anderson and Isaiah Mobley each adding 11.
Tech returns home for its next game, hosting Georgia State Tuesday night at McCamish Pavilion. Tip off is at 9 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on the ACC’s Regional Sports Network.