Tubelis' 25 points power No. 8 Arizona past USC, 87-81
AP
Mar 03, 2023
LOS ANGELES (AP) Azoulas Tubelis scored 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and No. 8 Arizona Wildcats ended USC Trojans's 14-game home win streak with an 87-81 victory Thursday night.
It was the Wildcats’ first game since they were upset by rival Arizona State on an improbable half-court shot at the buzzer, 89-88. Arizona has not lost back-to-back games in the two seasons Tommy Lloyd has been its coach.
Arizona took control midway through the first half. After Reese Dixon-Waters hit from behind the arc to tie the game at 12-12 with 13:29 to play in the first half, Tubelis and Pelle Larsson sandwiched layups around Courtney Ramey's second 3-pointer to open a 19-12 advantage. By the time Kerr Kriisa hit from behind the arc with 16 seconds left, the Wildcats held a 43-31 advantage.
USC's Kobe Johnson picked up his third foul early and went to the bench for the final nine minutes of the half after scoring just two points. Dixon-Waters and Boogie Ellis scored 25 of USC's 31 first-half points.
Arizona's inside game with Tubelis and Oumar Ballo gave the Trojans trouble all night and the pair finished with 35 points and 15 rebounds, plus each had three assists, a steal and a blocked shot.
The Wildcats (25-5, 14-5 Pac-12) extended their lead to as many as 15 points midway through the second half, but Ellis poured in 16 points over the final nine minutes to get the Trojans within five points in the final minute.
Ellis scored 35 points to lead the Trojans (21-9, 13-6), hitting 11 of 20 shots from the field, including 6 of 11 from 3-point range. Dixon-Waters scored 17 points and grabbed six rebounds and Johnson had 12 second-half points to finish with 14.
Ramey hit 3 of 7 from long range and scored 16 points for Arizona. Kriisa converted 3 of 6 from distance to add 11 points while Kylan Boswell had 14 points off the bench.
SEEDS
The victory assures Arizona the No. 2 seed into next week's Pac-12 Conference Tournament in Las Vegas, USC will be the No. 3 seed.
RECORD START
The win was Lloyd's 58th in his two seasons as Arizona's coach, tying him with former North Carolina coach Bill Guthridge for the most wins by a college coach in his first two seasons.
UP NEXT
Arizona plays its regular-season finale at No. 4 UCLA on Saturday.
USC plays host to Arizona State on Saturday.
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1st Half
ARIZ
Wildcats
43
USC
Trojans
31
Time
Team
Play
Score
20:00
Oumar Ballo vs. Joshua Morgan (Wildcats gains possession)
19:42
Oumar Ballo turnover
19:29
Kobe Johnson misses three point jump shot
19:27
Wildcats defensive rebound
19:04
+2
Courtney Ramey makes two point jump shot (Cedric Henderson Jr. assists)
2-0
19:04
+2
Kobe Johnson makes two point floating jump shot
2-2
18:30
Oumar Ballo misses two point layup
18:28
Azuolas Tubelis offensive rebound
18:21
+2
Azuolas Tubelis makes two point layup
4-2
18:08
+3
Boogie Ellis makes three point jump shot (Kobe Johnson assists)
4-5
17:54
Joshua Morgan blocks Oumar Ballo's two point layup
17:52
Azuolas Tubelis offensive rebound
17:47
Kerr Kriisa misses three point jump shot
17:45
Joshua Morgan defensive rebound
17:32
Tre White misses two point layup
17:30
Azuolas Tubelis defensive rebound
17:18
Joshua Morgan shooting foul (Oumar Ballo draws the foul)
17:18
+1
Oumar Ballo makes regular free throw 1 of 2
5-5
17:18
Oumar Ballo misses regular free throw 2 of 2
17:18
Vincent Iwuchukwu defensive rebound
17:03
+2
Boogie Ellis makes two point layup
5-7
16:51
Courtney Ramey turnover (lost ball)
16:37
Drew Peterson turnover (bad pass)
16:29
+3
Courtney Ramey makes three point jump shot (Kerr Kriisa assists)
8-7
16:02
Boogie Ellis misses three point jump shot
16:00
Oumar Ballo defensive rebound
15:53
Kobe Johnson personal foul (Courtney Ramey draws the foul)
15:53
TV timeout
15:36
Kobe Johnson personal foul (Oumar Ballo draws the foul)
15:27
Oumar Ballo misses two point layup
15:25
Vincent Iwuchukwu defensive rebound
15:16
+2
Boogie Ellis makes two point jump shot
8-9
14:58
+2
Azuolas Tubelis makes two point jump shot (Kerr Kriisa assists)
10-9
14:36
Drew Peterson misses two point jump shot
14:34
Kerr Kriisa defensive rebound
14:28
Kerr Kriisa misses two point jump shot
14:26
Azuolas Tubelis offensive rebound
14:26
+2
Azuolas Tubelis makes two point layup
12-9
14:26
Vincent Iwuchukwu shooting foul (Azuolas Tubelis draws the foul)
14:26
Azuolas Tubelis misses regular free throw 1 of 1
14:26
Trojans defensive rebound
14:16
Azuolas Tubelis blocks Boogie Ellis's two point layup
14:14
Cedric Henderson Jr. defensive rebound
13:47
Kijani Wright blocks Azuolas Tubelis's two point layup
13:45
Cedric Henderson Jr. offensive rebound
13:42
Wildcats turnover (shot clock violation)
13:27
+3
Reese Dixon-Waters makes three point jump shot (Boogie Ellis assists)
12-12
13:07
Azuolas Tubelis misses three point jump shot
13:05
Reese Dixon-Waters defensive rebound
12:58
Drew Peterson misses three point jump shot
12:56
Azuolas Tubelis defensive rebound
12:48
+2
Azuolas Tubelis makes two point layup (Kylan Boswell assists)
14-12
12:28
Pelle Larsson personal foul (Boogie Ellis draws the foul)
12:19
Tre White misses three point jump shot
12:17
Kijani Wright offensive rebound
12:19
Jump ball. Kijani Wright vs. Cedric Henderson Jr. (Trojans gains possession)
12:12
Reese Dixon-Waters misses three point jump shot
12:10
Wildcats defensive rebound
12:00
Courtney Ramey offensive foul
12:00
Courtney Ramey turnover (offensive foul)
12:00
TV timeout
11:50
Drew Peterson turnover (traveling)
11:34
Joshua Morgan blocks Pelle Larsson's two point layup
11:32
Wildcats offensive rebound
11:29
+3
Courtney Ramey makes three point jump shot (Oumar Ballo assists)
17-12
11:03
Boogie Ellis turnover (bad pass)
10:54
+2
Pelle Larsson makes two point layup
19-12
10:41
+2
Boogie Ellis makes two point layup
19-14
10:28
Oumar Ballo turnover (traveling)
10:00
Drew Peterson misses two point jump shot
9:58
Oumar Ballo defensive rebound
9:52
Courtney Ramey misses three point jump shot
9:50
Oziyah Sellers defensive rebound
9:44
Cedric Henderson Jr. personal foul (Boogie Ellis draws the foul)
9:33
Oziyah Sellers misses three point jump shot
9:31
Joshua Morgan offensive rebound
9:22
Kobe Johnson offensive foul
9:22
Kobe Johnson turnover (offensive foul)
9:05
+3
Kerr Kriisa makes three point jump shot (Courtney Ramey assists)
22-14
8:47
+2
Boogie Ellis makes two point jump shot
22-16
8:37
Azuolas Tubelis misses two point layup
8:35
Reese Dixon-Waters defensive rebound
8:25
Boogie Ellis misses two point jump shot
8:23
Wildcats defensive rebound
8:06
+2
Courtney Ramey makes two point jump shot
24-16
7:36
Drew Peterson misses two point jump shot
7:34
Azuolas Tubelis defensive rebound
7:28
Kerr Kriisa turnover (traveling)
7:28
TV timeout
7:17
+2
Reese Dixon-Waters makes two point layup (Vincent Iwuchukwu assists)
24-18
7:00
+2
Oumar Ballo makes two point dunk (Azuolas Tubelis assists)
26-18
6:39
Kerr Kriisa shooting foul (Boogie Ellis draws the foul)
6:39
+1
Boogie Ellis makes regular free throw 1 of 2
26-19
6:39
+1
Boogie Ellis makes regular free throw 2 of 2
26-20
6:28
Boogie Ellis shooting foul (Azuolas Tubelis draws the foul)
6:28
+1
Azuolas Tubelis makes regular free throw 1 of 2
27-20
6:28
+1
Azuolas Tubelis makes regular free throw 2 of 2
28-20
6:16
Boogie Ellis misses two point layup
6:14
Pelle Larsson defensive rebound
6:09
+2
Azuolas Tubelis makes two point dunk (Pelle Larsson assists)
30-20
6:07
Trojans 30 second timeout
5:54
+2
Reese Dixon-Waters makes two point jump shot
30-22
5:40
+2
Azuolas Tubelis makes two point layup (Pelle Larsson assists)
32-22
5:25
Reese Dixon-Waters misses two point jump shot
5:17
Trojans offensive rebound
5:02
+2
Reese Dixon-Waters makes two point jump shot (Boogie Ellis assists)
32-24
4:48
Courtney Ramey misses two point jump shot
4:46
Drew Peterson defensive rebound
4:26
Vincent Iwuchukwu misses two point jump shot
4:24
Azuolas Tubelis defensive rebound
4:16
Kylan Boswell misses three point jump shot
4:14
Joshua Morgan defensive rebound
3:55
Joshua Morgan turnover (lost ball) (Kylan Boswell steals)
3:53
Boogie Ellis shooting foul (Kylan Boswell draws the foul)
3:53
TV timeout
3:53
+1
Kylan Boswell makes regular free throw 1 of 2
33-24
3:53
Kylan Boswell misses regular free throw 2 of 2
3:53
Azuolas Tubelis offensive rebound
3:32
+2
Kylan Boswell makes two point jump shot
35-24
3:01
+2
Reese Dixon-Waters makes two point jump shot (Boogie Ellis assists)