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National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Arizona 70, Southern California 49
When: 3:00 PM ET, Thursday, March 14, 2024
Where: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Officials: # Jason Garretson, # Deldre Carr, # Mike Littlewood
Attendance: N/A

LAS VEGAS -- Oumar Ballo had a double-double, KJ Lewis scored a team-high 15 points off the bench and No. 6 Arizona put on an impressive defensive display in a 70-49 victory over Southern California in a Pac-12 tournament quarterfinal game on Thursday.

Arizona (25-7) is known for its go-go offense but showed the kind of defense that is emblematic of successful postseason basketball, holding the ninth-seeded Trojans (15-18) to 16 first-half points and 35.7 percent shooting for the game.

The top-seeded Wildcats, who held USC to its lowest point total of the season and forced 18 turnovers, will play Friday against Oregon, which beat UCLA 68-66 on Thursday night.

Ballo had 10 points and 13 rebounds for his 10th double-double in the past 11 games. Jaden Bradley scored 12, Caleb Love added 11, and Pelle Larsson had 10.

Kobe Johnson led the Trojans with 14 points, and Isaiah Collier contributed 13. Boogie Ellis, who was averaging a team-high 16.9 points, shot 2 of 11 from the field and finished with six points before fouling out with 7:25 to go.

The Wildcats avenged a 78-65 loss at USC on Saturday and improved to 18-0 after a loss in the three-year tenure of coach Tommy Lloyd, who is 86-18 at Arizona.

The game was a high-effort, high-intensity affair from the beginning, with defense ruling most of the first half. Arizona held a small lead for most of the period but finished on a 9-0 run to go up by 28-16 at the break.

Each team committed nine turnovers in the half, with USC shooting only 23.3 percent (7 of 30).

Arizona expanded its 12-point halftime lead, going up 44-24 after a three-point play by Lewis with 13:14 to go. The Wildcats didn't relent, with a fast-break dunk by Bradley resulting a 54-32 lead and a USC timeout at the 8:14 mark

The Wildcats' biggest lead of the second half was 24 points.

--Anthony Gimino, Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Southern California   Arizona
Kobe Johnson 14 Scoring KJ Lewis 15
Isaiah Collier 3 Assists Kylan Boswell 3
Kobe Johnson 8 Rebounds Oumar Ballo 13
DJ Rodman 2 Free Throws Made Oumar Ballo 4
Isaiah Collier 2 Steals Kylan Boswell 3
Vincent Iwuchukwu 3 Blocks Oumar Ballo 3
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Southern California 49 35.7 6-22 3-6 9 28 7 6 18
Arizona 70 45.6 7-19 11-18 11 38 3 10 14