USC Basketball vs. Arizona: Trojans Falter in Upset Bid

USC basketball (21-7) couldn’t pull off the upset against Arizona at the McKale Center, falling to the Wildcats, 90-77.

The lowdown: De’Anthony Melton opened the scoring for USC at the McKale Center but the Trojans committed three early turnovers as the Wildcats jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the opening minutes.

USC pulled back within one as Jordan McLaughlin dribbled through the defense and dished to Chimezie Metu for a dunk making it 7-6.

Though Arizona maintained their advantage over the opening minutes, the Trojans drew even at 13 when the refs opted not to call Bennie Boatwright for a push off on a diving Allonzo Trier and the forward found McLaughlin for a wide open three-pointer.

USC continued their 9-0 run to take a 17-13 lead with a pair of layups.

Elijah Stewart came charging through the lane for a flying dunk to put the Trojans up 22-15, but drew a technical foul for hanging on the rim.

Despite the setback, USC grew the lead as high as nine points with seven minutes to play.

The two teams battled back and forth but the Trojans held onto their lead until a questionable off-ball foul called against Nick Rakocevic as Trier knocked down a jumper gave the Wildcats a four-point possession to cut the lead in half.

Parker Jackson-Cartwright’s corner three drew Arizona within two points with two minutes left and Trier’s triple gave the Wildcats their first lead since the opening minutes at 38-37.

Trier knocked down a long-range three at the buzzer to give Arizona a 44-39 lead at the half.

At the start of the second half, Trier and Boatwright traded triples as the Trojans cut the deficit to two points at 51-49.

However, Jackson-Cartwright helped the Wildcats pull away again with a three-pointer.

Metu’s response — a towering dunk — saw the big man come off the floor after landing awkwardly on his ankle.

Even though Metu was able to return, the Trojans couldn’t get a foothold back in the game. Arizona posted their biggest lead of the game at 69-55 midway through the period as Rawle Alkins dropped in a three-pointer.

USC was able to cut into the lead, pulling it down to 10 points with just under three minutes to go.

Jonah Mathews missed an open three attempt to make it interesting, but Metu hit a free thow to make it a single-digit game for the first time since the 12-minute mark.

However, Markkenen drove for a field goal and Jackson-Cartwight blocked Boatwright on the other end to kill USC’s hopes of an improbable comeback.

Arizona finished the win 90-77.

The takeaway: In the end, the game turned into a mix-and-match of USC’s game with UCLA at Pauley Pavilion and their last match up with Arizona at the Galen Center.

Even though the Trojans stayed in the game early, the Wildcats pulled away much like the Bruins did, though this time USC didn’t let it get quite so out of hand. Much like they did in January, USC fought back against Arizona to keep things close, but ran out of time in the end.

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Facing their third consecutive team ranked in the Top 6, USC couldn’t quite pull off the upset they needed, though that was always a tough ask.

Boatwright led the Trojans with 23 points on the night, including 3-of-7 three pointers. However, his four turnovers, along with three each from Melton, McLaughlin and Metu, limited USC’s chances.

Now, the Trojans must look ahead to three more winnable games against Arizona State and the Washington schools in order to shore up their hopes of an NCAA tournament bid.

Stat of the game: Arizona hit five three-pointers in the final five minutes of the first half to take the lead.

Next on tap: USC’s trip to the desert continues on Sunday, January 26 against ASU at 4:30 p.m.

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