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Arizona-USC game blog: Cats coast past Trojans

No drama at McKale as sixth-ranked Arizona bounced back from its loss to UCLA with a 74-50 victory at McKale Center.

The Wildcats held USC to 28.1 percent shooting, and it could have been lower if the Trojans, working against a group of four walk-ons and freshman guard Gabe York, made four of their final shots.

Arizona never trailed and mostly coasted in the second half, leading by 31 halfway with about 10 minutes left.

Nick Johnson led Arizona with 14 points. Solomon Hill had 13 points, five rebounds and four assists.

Check back for more later …

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Gabe York hits a 3-pointer with 6:48 left, much to the crowd’s delight.

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Gabe York slips into the game with 8:11 to go. The Zona Zoo, half-heartedly, chants “We want Wiepking” … but walk-on Max Wiepking stays on the bench for now.

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Nick Johnson brings McKale Center to its feet with 8:11 to go, soaring through the air for a reverse dunk. It’s a party; Cats up 61-32.

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The Zona Zoo can’t chant this often: The student section, with the Cats up 53-27, serenades USC with chants of “Just … like … football.”

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USC center James Blasczyk picks up a technical foul with 10:53 to go with a push to Brandon Ashley.

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McKale Center with a collective gasp with 11:45 as Solomon Hill takes a hard spill on his backside as he’s fouled near the basket. Hill stays in to shoot the free throws after the media timeout.

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Is Kevin O’Neill watching this game … or Law & Order reruns?

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Kaleb Tarczewski has a monster dunk, a lay-up and a got fouled on a strong move near the rim … all within the first four minutes of the second half. Good signs for the freshman 7-footer, who has needed to finish better down low.
Cats up 46-24 with 15:53 to go.

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There shouldn’t be much drama in the second half. Arizona just needs to keep its focus. With any luck, Sean Miller can start to empty the bench around the final media timeout.

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Mark Lyons hits a 3-pointer with a few seconds left before the break, a nice way to cap a first half dominated by Arizona. The cats lead 39-20 and have held USC to 24.1 percent shooting.

USC committed 11 turnovers in the first half.

Nick Johnson has 10 points for Arizona. Lyons and Brandon Ashley have nine each.

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Brandon Ashley doesn’t shoot the long-range jumper match, but when he does, it goes in. He makes a 3-pointer with 2:46 to go in the half … and he’s now 3 of 3 from beyond the arc this season.

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It’s not as if USC entered the game as a horrible offensive team. The Trojans averaged 72.4 points through seven conference games and came into this game shooting a league-best 46.4 percent in Pac-12 games.

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This sums up USC’s game so far: Ari Stewart hits the side of the backboard on a wide-open 3-point attempt from the left corner. The Trojans are 2 of 17 from the field with 8:25 to go. Angelo Chol checks in for the Wildcats to a huge ovation. Can’t wait to see the crowd reaction for when Gabe York gets into this game.

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Jordin Mayes misses badly on a 3-point attempt. What has happened to his shot? You would have thought that after being so hot at the end of the Arizona’s Elite Eight run in 2011 that he would be a 3-point ace for the next three years. Last season was mostly derailed by a foot injury, though, and it doesn’t look as if he has any of his confidence back.

In any case, Arizona is up 21-7 with 11:46 to play in the half.

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There is Bob Cantu’s second timeout, with 13:32 to go in the half. Mark Lyons and Kevin Parrom have hit back-to-back 3-pointers for the Wildcats to push the lead to 18-4. Oh, a little of that kind of shooting would have gone a long way early against UCLA.

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USC starts 1 of 9 from the field, including a big block by Grant Jerrett. Arizona up 12-2 with 14:30 to go.

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Unlike the UCLA game, Arizona is off to a hot start, forcing four USC turnovers in the first few minutes and racing to a 6-0 lead at the 16:58 mark. USC interim coach Bob Cantu calls his first time out; Kevin O’Neill probably would have called three by now.

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Arizona going with the same starting lineup. That’s predictable. Question is, will Sean Miller go more than eight-deep tonight and give the call to Angelo Chol and Gabe York?

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Here is how the top of the Pac-12 standings look a half-hour before tip-off at McKale:

Oregon 6-0
UCLA 6-2
ASU 5-2
Arizona 4-2
Washington 4-2

Big game later with Washington at Oregon.

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Arizona State has finished off a 78-60 victory over UCLA, which did not have forward Travis Wear, who was out after missing the second half of Thursday’s game against Arizona because of a concussion.

So, which is the more dominant feeling?

Does the ASU-UCLA result make Arizona’s win over the Devils last week that much better … or the loss to UCLA that much worse?

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This is the 101st meeting between Arizona and USC. The Cats lead the series 60-40.

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USC interim head coach Bob Cantu has been on the job less than two weeks, but he’s about to get his second shot at the Arizona Wildcats.

OK, so his first chance came back in 2011, when Cantu had to step in for Kevin O’Neill during the Pac-10 tournament after O’Neill was suspended after he and wife were involved in an altercation with an Arizona booster.

Arizona won that game 67-62.

Cantu is 1-2 since taking over after O’Neill’s midseason firing. Cantu has loosed the reins on the Trojans, who no longer have to abide by O’Neill’s defense-first, grind-it-out mentality.

USC is coming off a 98-93 overtime loss at Arizona State on Thursday, when the Trojans hit 10 3-pointers, their most since 2008. USC split at home last week against the Oregon schools, nearly knocking off league-leading Oregon before falling 76-74.

Guard J.T. Terrell has scored 53 points in the past three games.

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Arizona, which is 16-2 overall, enters today’s game against USC at 4-2 in the Pac-12, two games behind Oregon.

“We can still compete,” said forward Solomon Hill. “There is a lot of basketball left. … It’s too early to just get down on ourselves. We’re in a good situation, being 16-2.”

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Eric Wise, a 6-6, 240-pound forward, leads USC with 12.9 points per game. He is averaging 5.2 rebounds per game and also has made 19 of 39 3-point shots. The senior is a one-year transfer from UC Irvine.

Dewayne Dedmon, a 7-footer, leads the Trojans in rebounding with 7.1 per game. Watch his fouls. He has fouled out of three games this season.

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