Eleven 3-pointers meant Arizona could cover up some defensive issues pretty well Thursday, but the Wildcats know that trick might not work next time.
That’s because the nation’s most efficient offensive team, UCLA, is coming to McKale Center on Saturday, after the Wildcats pulled out a 90-77 win Thursday over USC despite the Trojans’ 52.9-percent shooting.
“We have to play better defense to compete with them,” guard Allonzo Trier said of UCLA, after leading the Wildcats with a season-high 25 points Thursday. “It’ll be a challenge. Something we’re looking forward to.”
Even though both teams shot just over 50 percent, the difference was simple math: The Trojans were most successful crashing through the UA defense en route to the basket, getting emphatic two-pointers, but making six fewer 3s than the Wildcats did.
Arizona was 11 of 20 from 3-point range while USC was 5 of 15.
The Trojans also had 14 turnovers that UA converted into 23 points, while the Wildcats turned it over only eight times.
The 11 3-pointers were the most Arizona has made in a Pac-12 game this season and second most overall; the Wildcats hit 13 of 24 at Missouri on Dec. 10.
Trier made 4 of 6 3-pointers while Parker Jackson-Cartwright hit 3 of 4, and freshmen Rawle Alkins and Kobi Simmons each had two.
Surprisingly, UA’s best 3-point shooter over the first half of the season, Lauri Markkanen, missed the only long-range shot he took.
While Trier led the Wildcats with 25 points on 7-for-11 shooting overall, Alkins had 12 and Dusan Ristic 10. Markkanen had 11 points and seven rebounds.
It was Trier’s second straight 20-plus scoring effort, and he’s made 8 of 11 3-pointers in the Wildcats’ last two games after returning from his 19-game suspension on Jan. 21.
“It’s just his path this year,” UA coach Sean Miller said. “It’s taken him some time to really show what a better 3-point shooter he is.”
The win, UA’s 21st straight at McKale Center and fifth in a row, moved the Wildcats to 26-3 overall and 15-1 in the Pac-12, where they remain a game ahead of Oregon. USC dropped to 21-7 and 8-7.
UA trailed by up to nine in the first half, and after the Wildcats led 44-39 at halftime, USC pulled within two points early in the second half, 51-49, after Bennie Boatwright hit a pair of 3-pointers early in the second half.
It was typical behavior for Boatwright, a onetime UA recruiting target who did not play in UA’s win at the Galen Center last month because of a sprained knee. Boatwright led USC in scoring with 23 points, while four of USC’s starters shot better than 50 percent.
“They really ran good action,” Trier said of USC’s offense. “Bennie made a lot of shots and (Chimezie) Metu is a load down there. They have some really talented guys.”
But after Boatwright made it 51-49, the Wildcats went on a 15-4 run to take control of the game. At the end of the run, they led 66-53, after Trier made a layup and then scored again after a quick turnover in the USC backcourt.
The Wildcats shot 63.2 percent through the first 12 minutes of the second half, continuing a blistering pace set late in the first half. They shot only 29.4 percent through the first 9:58 of the game.
Over the final 2:11 of the first half, Arizona finished with a flurry of four 3-pointers to pull out of an early slump and take its 44-39 halftime lead.
The Wildcats allowed USC to shoot 58.3 percent through the first 17 minutes of the game and trailed by up to nine points before making a late run in the half. The Wildcats went on a 6-0 run to take a 38-37 lead with 1:43 left and gained their final first-half edge after Trier sank a 3-pointer as time expired.
UA pulled out of its last nine-point hole with an unusual four-point swing: Markkanen sank a 10-foot shot while Chance Comanche was fouled on the same play, then going to the free-throw line to hit both ends of a one-and-one. That made it 33-28 with 4:19 left and UA kept going from there.
But defense was an issue for the Wildcats throughout the half: USC shot 57.1 percent from the field, while Boatwright and Jordan McLaughlin each had nine points to lead the Trojans.
While Arizona took an early 13-8 lead, the Trojans went on a 18-4 run to take leads of nine points midway through the first half, beating the Wildcats inside and shooting jumpers over their defense.
One of the few breaks they had during that stretch was when USC’s Elijah Stewart raced through the UA defense for a dunk — but was called for a technical foul for hanging too long on the rim.
“We just didn’t meet their energy to start the game and it showed,” Trier said. “We tried to do a better job in the second half.”
With Kadeem Allen and Ristic both coming off injuries, and sophomore Comanche playing well in Ristic’s absence last week in Washington, Miller shook up his starting lineup. He went with Jackson-Cartwright, Allen and Trier on the perimeter, with Comanche and Markkanen inside.
Miller said he will probably continue to juggle the starting lineup for the rest of the season, depending on what he believes will give UA the best chance to start the game. He said Comanche’s improved play also led to his start.
Both teams struggled early in the game, with UA missing its first four shots and Trier committing a turnover before Allen scored to tie the game at 2. UA took a 13-8 lead with 12 minutes left before McLaughlin tied it up at 13 with two-point and 3-point jumpers at the beginning of the Trojans’ run.
The early defensive troubles may have been long forgotten by UA’s shooting, but not by Miller.
“At times we played some good defense and at times we didn’t,” Miller said. “You’re only going to go as far as your excellence on both ends. It can’t be just one. To beat UCLA certainly that’s what’s going to be required.”
