USC Men's Basketball Falls To No. 22 Tennessee In Battle 4 Atlantis Semifinals

Boogie Ellis had his second straight game scoring over 20 points, but it wasn't enough as USC men's basketball fell to No. 22 Tennessee 73-66 in overtime in the Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis semifinal round on Thursday.

The Trojans (4-2) will face Wisconsin in the third-place game on Friday at 10:00 a.m. PT on ESPN2.

Ellis finished with 21 points, four assists and three rebounds. Freshman Tre White had a season-high 11 points with four rebounds. Drew Peterson had nine points, six rebounds and five assists, while Kobe Johnson also scored nine with five boards.

USC forced 11 lead changes throughout the game but committed a season-high 20 turnovers, including six during overtime. The Trojans scored just four points during the extra period.

Tennessee (4-1), which advanced to the Round of 32 in last year's NCAA Tournament, took a 14-8 lead in the first seven minutes and controlled most of the first half. Ellis' buzzer-beating 3-pointer cut the Trojans' deficit to 37-34 at halftime.

USC roared out of the intermission with a 9-0 run that gave the Trojans the lead. USC was promptly held to a six-minute drought that allowed the Volunteers to retake the advantage.

White scored back-to-back layups that put USC up four with 3:31 remaining in regulation, but the Trojans didn't score the rest of the second half. Baskets from Tennessee's Oliver Nkamhoua and Julian Phillips in the final three minutes sent the game into overtime.

The Trojans had three turnovers to start the overtime period. After Ellis made a turnaround jumper, USC committed three straight turnovers again that kept the Trojans out of the game.

Phillips finished with a game-high 25 points for Tennessee, which advances to Thursday's Battle 4 Atlantis championship game against No. 3 Kansas.