UA holds on in 2nd half, stuns Pac-12 leading USC
LOS ANGELES – Without a postseason to look forward to, the Arizona Wildcats instead rolled all their March Madness dramatics and heroics into one afternoon at perhaps the most unlikely place possible.
Having lost five of their previous seven games, with nowhere to go thanks to their school's decision to self-impose a postseason ban, the Wildcats instead went into the house of first-place USC and pulled out a 81-72 win over the Trojans at the Galen Center.
And, in what might be even more of a surprise to those who follow NBA mock draft boards, the Wildcats did it by heading inside and getting the better of projected high lottery pick Evan Mobley and his brother, Isaiah.
Azuolas Tubelis led UA with 14 points and 14 rebounds, while Jordan Brown had 16 points and 10 rebounds to control the inside in a game when starting center Christian Koloko struggled, and James Akinjo took care of the perimeter. Akinjo had 16 points and seven assists while Kerr Kriisa added nine and Dalen Terry broke out of a shooting slump with six.
Evan Mobley had 19 of his 23 points in the second half, while Isaiah Mobley had seven points and seven rebounds, but it wasn’t enough for USC.
The Wildcats were so effective inside that they were able to overcome struggles by Koloko and wing Bennedict Mathurin, who had just two points while missing all four shots he took.
The win moved Arizona to 15-8 overall and 9-8, meaning the Wildcats will finish over .500 in league play if they beat at least one of the Washington schools next weekend and their Jan. 16 game at Oregon is not rescheduled.
USC dropped to 18-4 and 12-3, losing only its second game since Jan. 19 at Oregon State. The Trojans entered Saturday’s game one loss ahead of UCLA and Oregon atop the Pac-12 standings.
Arizona led 37-31 at halftime, though USC quickly tied it up three times, the last on a 3 from Tahj Eaddy, but Dalen Terry hit 3s from each corner on two straight UA possessions to help put the Wildcats up 57-49 with 12:06 left.
That snapped a personal slump for Terry, who was 2 for 11 from the field over his past five games after going 1 for 5 at UCLA on Thursday.
A technical foul by Koloko with 9:14 left gave USC a chance to cut UA’s eight-point lead in half but Noah Baumann missed both technical free throws after Isaiah Mobley hit both of the free throws resulting from the personal foul.
Koloko was having a tough game at that point, missing both shots he had taken while collecting two rebounds – plus the four fouls and two turnovers.
Azuolas Tubelis later broke free out to drive inside for a layup, giving UA a 62-55 lead and drawing a wild celebration on the Wildcats’ bench. Tubelis had 14 points and 14 rebounds at that point, making 6 of 15 shots.
A 3-pointer from Kriisa and a dunk from Koloko gave UA a 12-point lead with 6:09 left, enough to hang on the rest of the way.
In the first half, Tubelis posted a first-half doubledouble with 10 points and 12 rebounds to help Arizona take a 37-31 halftime lead while Brown added 11 points and three rebounds.
The Wildcats outrebounded Mobley and the rest of the Trojans 21-16 while shooting 48.3% from the field.