LOS ANGELES — Purdue managed to overcome a tough challenge against USC as they started a stretch of six out of eight games on the road. Despite the away games, the fifth-ranked Boilermakers felt right at home during their visit to Los Angeles.

A crowd of 8,629 fans, mostly dressed in black and gold, traveled to Galen Center to watch the Boilermakers’ first game against the Trojans in 53 years. This was double the usual attendance for USC. Over 900 tickets were purchased by Purdue alumni, who cheered loudly throughout the game with chants of “Boiler up!” as the team secured a 69-64 victory.

“They cheered for us louder than the USC people cheered for them when we first walked out,” said center Oscar Cluff. “I was like, ‘Oh, this is like a home game. This is goosebumps.’”

The weather outside was a reminder that the Boilermakers weren’t back in West Lafayette, where it was 21 degrees (minus-6 Celsius). The 80-degree (26 Celsius) temperature made for a pleasant day for the team.

“It’s great,” said Cluff, who hails from Australia’s Sunshine Coast. “I was sitting out in the sun today having a good time.”

The Boilermakers (17-1, 7-0 Big Ten) have two days off in Los Angeles before heading across town to face UCLA (12-6, 4-3) on Tuesday night. However, coach Matt Painter has no plans for any beach or Hollywood excursions.

“Strictly business,” he said.

Painter, who played at Purdue under his coaching predecessor Gene Keady, is making his first visits to Galen Center and Pauley Pavilion. The Boilermakers haven’t visited Westwood since 1999, when they won 55-53.

The Bruins will be giving out John Wooden bobbleheads to the first 7,500 fans at the Purdue game.

“Hope to get one,” Painter said.

Wooden was an All-American player at Purdue before going on to win a record 10 national championships as UCLA coach. His former seat behind the UCLA bench is covered in gold fabric while all the others are blue. Wooden passed away at age 99 in 2010.

“We’ll definitely talk about it,” Painter said.

The Boilermakers came back from a 15-point deficit to defeat the Trojans for their ninth straight win, moving into a tie with No. 8 Nebraska at the top of the Big Ten standings. Three days earlier, they overcame a nine-point deficit to beat Iowa at home.

Saturday’s five-point win made Purdue the last team in the country not to play in a game decided by six points or less.

Braden Smith led the Boilermakers with 22 points. He had four rebounds to surpass 600 in his career and became the second player in NCAA history with at least 1,600 points, 900 assists, and 600 rebounds.

He knocked knees with a USC player early in the game and had to leave the court for a bit. He said his left leg got stiff and gave out a couple times.

“I think it’s crazy somebody is allowed to come run over and that’s not a foul call,” Smith said. “It was just hard to push off my legs on my jump shot and to really even move. At the end of the day, my team needs me to play, whether I’m hurt or not.”