LOS ANGELES — With 5 minutes 45 seconds left in Arizona’s visit to USC on Thursday night at Galen Center, a frustrated Sean Miller called a timeout.
A USC offense that had spent so much time in the freezer was suddenly on fire.
Elijah Stewart’s 3-pointer dropped in to cut the Wildcats lead to 11, and a once-decided game was now back in play.
Gone were the errant, inefficient last-gasp heaves. In their place, wide-open looks, and they were falling.
Only they fell a little too late, and Arizona escaped with a 73-66 win over the feisty Trojans.
Given USC’s hot shooting down the stretch, the Trojans probably wished the game lasted another five minutes. Maybe 10. Miller probably wished Galen Center sprang a leak with about 12 minutes to play.
After starting off 1 for 11 from behind the arc, the Trojans then hit 6 of 8 before going cold again.
“They had a chance to win a game that I think we were up by 21 with 14 minutes left, and you say, ‘Coach, that happens;’ well, it’s happened 10 times,” Miller said. “In my time, I’ve never coached a team this has happened to.”
With about one minute left in the first half, Stewart uncorked one from deep. It looked good. It was, the ball swishing through the net.
It was an unfamiliar sound for USC, on a night when Arizona’s perimeter defense was just about as good as it can be. For a half, at least.
The Trojans shot 8 for 31 from the field, 1 for 10 from 3-point range.
Stewart, USC’s long-range ace, was just 2 for 7 from the field and 1-for-4 from deep. Even reliable forward Chimezie Metu, the Trojans’ leading scorer, was quieted, held to 1-for-7 shooting.
Little surprise, then, that the Wildcats went into the half up 29-19 even if their offense was a shell of its normal self.
And speaking of shells, Arizona looked shellshocked once the Trojans started dropping bombs.
First it was a Stewart three with 14:09 left, cutting Arizona’s once-time 23-point lead down to 16. A few minutes later, another Stewart dagger kept it within 18.
And then, a barrage.
Jordan McLaughlin hit a 3 and another 41 seconds later. Another Stewart trey with 7:40 left, and another two minutes later.
One quick onslaught, and it was like the rather looming cloud that drifted over Los Angeles on Thursday night had settled in at Galen Center.
“We knew we’ve been through this before,” forward Lauri Markkanen said after the game. “In the locker room, we talked about how we had to be more tough. Finish the game. I think we relaxed a little bit. Every conference game is tough, and there’s nothing different tonight. Have to give 100 percent effort every night.”
For Miller, this is a worry. The Wildcats have shown a propensity of giving up big leads after the opponents go on a big, long-range run.
After the game on Thursday, Miller stood outside the Galen Center locker room and fumed. He made it clear: He was satisfied with yet another road win over a good Pac-12 opponent, one that pushed Arizona to 17-2 on the season.
But with UCLA and its high-scoring offense in the offing, he knew that dark cloud wasn’t about to dissipate two days early.
“We’ve been kind of that first-half team defensively,” Miller said. “Tonight, I think we played about 26 minutes. … Our ability to endure, to play for 40 minutes, to give everything you have for Arizona, all the way through the finish line is non-existent. I wish I had some answers.”
