NO. 23 ARIZONA HOLDS OFF USC FOR PAC-12 WIN

» Nico Mannion TUCSON, ARIZ. scored 20 points, Zeke Nnaji and Josh Green each added 18 and No. 23 Arizona held on for an 85-80 win over Southern California on Thursday night.

Arizona (16-6, 6-3 Pac-12) has won five of its past six and was in full control for most of this one until the final minutes.

The Wildcats led by as many as 20 during the second half, pushing to a 63-43 advantage with 12:55 remaining. USC slowly chipped away and pulled within 83-80 with five seconds left on a 3-pointer by Jonah Mathews, but Mannion responded with a pair of free throws to stop the rally.

Mannion scored 12 of his points on free throws. Nnaji grabbed 11 rebounds.

USC (17-6, 6-4) has lost backto-back games for the first time this season. The Trojans were led by Onyeka Okongwu with 23 points. Daniel Utomi added 22. USC lost despite shooting 28 of 56 (50%) from the field.

Two of USC’s usual starters — Mathews and forward Nick Rakocevic — didn’t start the game because of what the school called a “violation of team rules.” They both checked in at the first timeout with 13:37 left in the first half with USC trailing 12-9.

Their presence on the court didn’t help much.

Arizona led 43-33 at halftime and was led by Green’s 12 points, including three impressive dunks. USC was led by Okongwu’s 13 points before the break.

No. 25 HOUSTON 75, TULANE 62. » Caleb

HOUSTON

Mills had 18 points, Quentin Grimes added 15 and No. 25 Houston beat Tulane 75-62 on Thursday night.

Nate Hinton added 12 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists for Houston (18-5, 8-2 American).

The Cougars bounced back after losing to Cincinnati, 64-62, on Saturday. Houston is 15-0 after a loss over the last three seasons.

Teshaun Hightown had 17 points, K.J. Lawson added 13 points and Nobal Days scored 10 points to lead the Green Wave (10-12, 2-8).

Houston shot 54% and made 10 3-pointers. The Cougars also outrebounded Tulane 37-27 and held a 38-18 advantage in points in the paint. Tulane lost its sixth straight. Houston used a 24-4 run over a 10-minute stretch of the first half to open up a 29-10 lead on a jumper by Grimes with 4:40 left in the half. Grimes had seven points to lead the run. The Cougars led 39-21 at the half and Tulane got no closer than 10 in the second half.

NORTHERN COLORADO 68, SOUTHERN UTAH 60.

CEDAR » Kai Edwards had 17 CITY, UTAH points to lift Northern Colorado to a 68-60 win over Southern Utah on Thursday night.

Bodie Hume had 15 points and six rebounds for Northern Colorado (15-7, 8-3 Big Sky Conference). Trent Harris added 12 points. Kur Jockuch had 10 points. Jonah Radebaugh had 10 points and 11 assists.

John Knight III had 18 points for the Thunderbirds (13-9, 6-5). Andre Adams added 14 points and nine rebounds. Jakolby Long had six rebounds.

Both teams face Portland State in their next game.

Southern Utah plays host to the Vikings on Saturday, while Northern Colorado heads home for its matchup against Portland State on Monday.

UTAH 64, STANFORD 56 (OT).

» The

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH

Utah Utes outscored Stanford 14-6 in overtime to hand the Cardinal its fourth loss in five games Thursday night in Pac-12 play. The loss leaves Colorado, Oregon and Arizona as the only Pac-12 teams with three conference losses.