Arizona opened up an early lead on USC and looked to be in full control, but the Trojans stormed back and the Wildcats struggled to find any answers outside of freshman Azuolas Tubelis in an 87-73 loss at McKale Center.
Tubelis scored a career-high 31 points and grabbed eight rebounds in the UA loss as he carried the scoring load throughout the night. The freshman big man didn't receive much help, however, as UA's guards struggled to find any type of rhythm resulting in a 1-for-16 performance from the team's starting backcourt of James Akinjo and Jemarl Baker Jr.
Arizona (9-2, 3-2 Pac-12) battled with the Trojans for the first 27 minutes of the game, but by the 12:57-mark of the second half USC had a lead it would never give back resulting in the Wildcats' second loss of the season.
"Our defense was porous," UA head coach Sean Miller said. "There may have been times when we were in the right position and maybe they hit a tough, hard-earned shot but for the most part they got whatever they wanted. In the first half it was our fouling. In the second half when we needed the big stop or consecutive stops to really make this a one-possession game or a game where we could win, we never could quite get that.
"Then simultaneously, Jemarl and James have been very good for our team. Not every game is gonna go a player's way, but in the Pac-12 it's gonna be hard for us to overcome 1 for 15 from our starting backcourt. "The loss doesn't fall on their shoulders at all it's just every team in the country starts a backcourt. A point guard and a two. If that starting backcourt goes for 1 for 15 that's an uphill battle. I think our shooting with those guys, because clearly they're better than that, coupled with our inability to get stops you know we were overwhelmed. USC they deserve all the credit in the world. They came here, they took it to us. They were the better team."
The loss ruined an impressive night for Tubelis who scored the Wildcats' first seven points in the game. He didn't slow down the rest of the night as he turned in his best performance of the season while shouldering the scoring load for his team over the course of the game.
Miller called it an "awesome game" from his young freshman big man with the UA head coach giving Tubelis credit for having that type of performance against one of the more formidable frontcourt groups in the Pac-12. For Tubelis, the his big night was diminished by the loss but he certainly proved something about his talent level Thursday night.
"I feel more comfortable now," the Lithuanian big man said of his breakout performance. "We still lost this game, so it's not a great feeling right now. ... I'm working in practices very hard, and I'm trying to get better every day."
UA had the game as close as four points, 72-68, with 6:39 left to play but over the final stretch the Trojans (7-2, 2-1) were able to widen that gap leaving Miller unhappy about how his team finished the night.
"You get into a game where you can't get a stop and you can't make a shot it's hard to keep fighting and I don't think we fought to the end," he said. "I really don't. I thought it just became too hard, we were overwhelmed and we gave in down the home stretch. It's disappointing and something that clearly we will fix."
The Wildcats will have to regroup before welcoming UCLA to McKale Center this Saturday night for a national TV game on ESPN.
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