San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
USC hits last-second 3 to knock off rival UCLA.
Jonah Mathews envisioned the possibilities in his head the night before: becoming USC’S career 3point shooting leader, beating UCLA in his final home game as a senior, hitting the winning shot.
Then he went out and did it.
Mathews hit the gamewinning 3-pointer with 1 second remaining on senior day, helping the Trojans edge UCLA 54-52 on Saturday and end the Bruins’ seven-game winning streak.
“I knew it was going in before I let it go,” Mathews said of his step-back 3. “This is a dagger to their heart. I know it’s going to stick with them forever; it’s going to stick with me forever.”
The Bruins (19-12, 12-6 Pac-12) came into the game tied for first with Oregon. But the 13th-ranked Ducks beat Stanford 80-67 later Saturday to win the Pac-12 title outright.
“It took a great shot by Jonah Mathews to beat us,” first-year UCLA coach Mick Cronin said.
“We almost came in here on the road and pulled one out and they have NBA players on that team. We’ve come a long way and our season isn’t over.”
Mathews scored 19 points to lead the Trojans (22-9, 11-7), who tied for third in the league standings. He made five 3-pointers, becoming USC’S career leader with 247. Onyeka Okongwu added 16 points.
“He’s our senior captain,” Okongwu said of Mathews. “We look up to him. We trust him fully.”
Mathews’ game-winning shot triggered a raucous celebration, with fans rushing onto the court.
“My teammates swarmed me, the gym was
USC 54, UCLA 52
going insane,” Mathews said. “To end it this way, you can’t really ask for anything else. I’m super grateful.”
More Pac-12
Arizona State 83, Washington State 74: Alonzo Verge scored 20 points, Remy Martin added 18 and host Arizona State (20-11, 11-7) held off Washington State’s late rally. The Sun Devils were sharp early, building a 17-point lead before the Cougars fought back. Washington State (1516, 6-12) used a 17-2 run to tie the game at 65, but Arizona State senior Rob Edwards hit a corner 3-pointer and Verge a jumper to push the Sun Devils’ lead to seven.
Washington 69, Arizona 63: Jaden Mcdaniels scored 20 points and Isaiah Stewart added 16 points as the freshmen made sure Washington (15-16, 5-13) finished the Pac-12 regular season with a flourish in a victory at Arizona (20-11, 10-8).
Utah 74, Colorado 72 (OT): Both Gach scored a career-high 28 points, including three free throws with 0.6 seconds left, to lift Utah (16-14, 7-11) to an overtime win over Colorado (2110, 10-8) in Salt Lake City.
Oregon State 74, California 56: Seniors Tres Tinkle and Kylor Kelley combined for 43 points and 14 rebounds in their final home games for Oregon State (1613, 7-11) in a victory over California (13-18, 7-11).
WCC
San Francisco 72, Pacific 54: Charles Minlend scored 21 points to lead San Francisco (22-11) past Pacific (23-10) in the West Coast Conference Tournament quarterfinals in Las Vegas.