National Basketball Association
Arizona 73, Southern California 66
When: 9:00 PM ET, Thursday, January 19, 2017
Where: Galen Center, Los Angeles, California
Officials:
# Kevin Brill, # Bob Staffen, # Deron White
Attendance:
4930
By The Sports Xchange
LOS ANGELES -- When Arizona needed a play, it found Lauri Markkanen. He
did the rest.
Markkanen scored 23 points and his banked 3-pointer with 41 seconds to play gave the No. 14 Wildcats the cushion they needed to extend their winning streak to 11 games in a 73-66 victory over the USC Trojans on Thursday at the Galen Center.
Markkanen got the ball on the left wing as the shot clock ran down and his fifth 3-pointer of the game gave Arizona (17-2, 6-0) a 70-66 lead. USC never had the ball with a chance to tie after that.
"I just looked at the shot clock and saw five seconds, so I saw I had to make a play," said Markkanen, a 7-foot freshman from Finland.
"We didn't have time to run ball screens or anything. I didn't call bank, so you need a little bit of luck."
Markkanen made 5-of-6 3-pointers, and forward Rawle Alkins had 14 points and three of the Wildcats' 10 3-pointers.
Guard Kadeem Allen scored 11 points and center Dusan Ristic had seven points and 12 rebounds for the Wildcats, who remain tied with No. 11 Oregon (17-2, 6-0) atop the Pac-12.
Markkanen had seven points in the last four minutes, hitting a bank shot for a 64-54 lead and a follow shot with 1:47 remaining to make it 67-60.
USC (16-4, 3-4) closed within three points on four free throws by guard Shaqquan Aaron, the second two with 1:03 remaining, before Markkanen hit his deciding 3-pointer.
"Lauri is a great player, and he played great tonight again," Arizona coach Sean Miller said. "That shot was a lucky shot.
“You have to really be a bad coach to not give him the ball in critical moments. He's a really good 3-point shooter. From a decisions-making standpoint, he rarely turns it over. It's smart to put him in a position to have the ball."
Guard Elijah Stewart had 20 points and made 5-of-9 3-pointers for the Trojans, who have lost four of six after a 14-0 start. The Trojans fell out of the AP Top 25 for the first time in five weeks this week.
Guard Jared McLaughlin had 14 points and eight assists for USC, which trailed by 23 points five minutes into the second half before getting as close as three.
"It was a back-breaker there. It's a tough way to lose when a guy banks in a 3-pointer at the end of the shot clock," USC coach Andy Enfield said.
Neither team shot well. Arizona shot 39.7 percent from the field. USC was t 37.3 percent.
"We have struggled shooting lately, but we need make more defensive stops," McLaughlin said. "We all know we can shoot. The shots will fall."
USC made seven 3-pointers, six in the second half, after going 1 of 7 in the first.
Trojans forward Chimezie Metu, who had a career-high 24 points in a 71-68 victory at Colorado last Sunday, finished with 11 points on 4-of-13 shooting from the floor. Markkanen had the primary defensive assignment on Metu.
The Trojans scored the first basket of the game but never led again. Arizona took its largest lead at 44-21 when reserve forward Keanu Pinder made layup to complete a 15-2 run to begin the second half. USC's 43-23 run made the game close.
NOTES: Arizona G Allonzo Trier has missed the first 19 games of the season after being found in violation of NCAA rules regarding banned substances, he said in a statement. After an automobile accident last summer, Trier said he unknowingly took a medication that was banned by the NCAA. "Although I can practice and travel with the team, I am not allowed to resume playing in games until the substance completely leaves my body, even at a trace amount," Trier said. "Unfortunately, I am unsure of when that time will be, but I hope it is soon." ... USC had won four of the last six games in the series at the Galen Center, including a 103-101 quadruple-overtime victory on Jan. 9, 2016, before Thursday's loss. ... Arizona will play No. 3 UCLA in Pauley Pavilion on Saturday afternoon. UCLA has won seven of the last 10 in the series at Pauley. ... Arizona's losses are to No. 4 Gonzaga (17-0) by five points and No. 13 Butler (15-3) by four.
Top Game Performances
| Arizona |
|
Southern California |
|
Lauri Markkanen 23 |
Scoring |
Elijah Stewart 20 |
|
Parker Jackson-Cartwright 3 |
Assists |
Jordan McLaughlin 8 |
|
Dusan Ristic 12 |
Rebounds |
De'Anthony Melton 7 |
|
Rawle Alkins 5 |
Free Throws Made |
Shaqquan Aaron 5 |
|
Kadeem Allen 2 |
Steals |
Jordan McLaughlin 2 |
|
Dusan Ristic 2 |
Blocks |
Elijah Stewart 4 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Arizona
|
73 |
39.7 |
10-26 |
17-22 |
11 |
31 |
4 |
6 |
10 |
| Southern California
|
66 |
37.3 |
7-21 |
15-18 |
16 |
32 |
8 |
5 |
12 |
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