No. 7 Arizona Basketball outlasts the No. 19 USC Trojans

TUCSON, AZ – Finishing the game on an 18-3 run, No. 7 Arizona Basketball (19-2, 9-1), edged the visiting No. 19 USC Trojans (19-4, 9-4), winning 72-63.

No. 7 Arizona Basketball returned to action on Saturday afternoon against No. 19 USC, fresh off a huge statement win over conference rival, UCLA.

In a battle between two top programs in the conference, the Wildcats were hoping to avoid the hangover from their win over UCLA, and luckily, Arizona brought the intensity.

Finishing the game on an 18-3 to secure the nine-point win, Azuolas Tubelis would have a big day for the Wildcats, he would finish with 18 points and 11 rebounds, meanwhile, Kerr Kriisa would end with 13 points on 4-7 shooting (3-5 from three).

However, from the start, this one would be a battle as neither team played a clean first half. Despite opening the half by outscoring the Trojans 28-21 with 1:49 to play, the Trojans would end the half on a 7-1 run, pulling within one of the Wildcats at halftime.

A back and forth battle in the second half would keep this one close before a late surge by Arizona Basketball would close this one out.

The second half was a battle for the Wildcats as they tried to gain a comfortable lead in this one. Unfortunately, every time Arizona would begin to create some separation for themselves, the Trojans would have a response.

Opening the half by outscoring USC 10-5 after the first 4:03 to play, the Trojans would respond in a big way, tying things at 42-42, and again at 46-46.

Arizona would take a 54-50 lead with 9:10 to play; however, a 10-0 run by USC would give the Trojans their largest lead of the game at 60-54 with 6:29.

Luckily, the Wildcats would respond in a big way, locking things in on defense and closing the game out on an 18-3 run to defeat the Trojans 72-63.

So where does Arizona Basketball go from here?

With the win, the Wildcats improve 19-2 (9-1) on the year and will have a day off before they return to action on Monday evening against rival Arizona State who is coming off a massive, triple-overtime win against No. 3 UCLA.

Listen to head coach Tommy Lloyd following the Wildcats’ win!