Freshman Tubelis scores 31 in UA loss
Arizona freshman Azuolas Tubelis exploded for a season-high 31 points Thursday but the Wildcats needed more help in an 81-73 loss to USC at McKale Center.
While Tubelis made 11 of 16 field goals from a variety of locations on the floor, and added 7-for-9 free throw shooting, UA’s guards struggled to score. James Akinjo was 0 for 9 from the field and Jemarl Baker was 1 for 7, though Terrell Brown scored 10 points on 4-for-8 shooting
Brown hit a jumper in the paint long into an Arizona possession with 7:28 left to pull the Wildcats within 70-66, but USC went up by nine after Drew Peterson hit a 3 and Evan Mobley made a turnaround jumper with four minutes left.
The Trojans went on to keep the Wildcats scoreless over the final two minutes with Isaiah White, a grad transfer from Utah Valley the Wildcats tried to recruit, scoring a layup and dunk in the final 85 seconds.
White wound up being the Trojans’ leading scorer with 22 points while Mobley, USC’s projected lottery pick, finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds.
The loss snapped UA’s four-game win streak and dropped the Wildcats to 9-2 overall and 3-2 in the Pac-12, heading into an ESPN-televised game Saturday with UCLA at McKale Center. The Trojans improved to 7-2 and 2-1.
It was the fourth time in the past five matchups that USC has beaten Arizona.
Tubelis hit both ends of a one-andone free throw appearance to pull UA within 64-58 midway through the second half, but the Trojans opportunistically built their lead to 10 points when Evan Mobley dunked off a rebound, then stole the ball from Tubelis and Isaiah White then dunked to give USC a 68-58 lead.
With 17 points in the first half, Tubelis stayed hot early in the second half. Over the first five minutes, he had a layup and two 3-pointers, the second one a shot from the right corner that gave UA a 48-27 lead with 14:56 to go.
At that point, Tubelis already had 25 points and seven rebounds, well beyond his previous season high of 13 points he set against Eastern Washington.
With most of the other Wildcats struggling at that point offensively, Tubelis also dished an assist to Bennedict Mathurin for a 3-pointer that give UA a 53-52 lead with13:28 left. But the Trojans then scored eight straight points to go ahead 60-53, getting a layup from White plus 3s from Noah Baumann and Isaiah Mobley.
In the first half, Tubelis had 17 points and seven rebounds to keep otherwise poor-shooting Arizona just a point behind USC in a 35-34 at halftime.
UA made just 1 of 7 field goals while shooting 35.3% overall, with everyone other than Tubelis shooting a combined 5 for 24 from the field.