UCLA Rallies To Beat USC 87-72, Ends 2-Game Skid
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Aaron Holiday scored 34 points, Kris Wilkes added 22 and UCLA rallied over the final eight minutes to beat Southern California 83-72 on Saturday night and complete a season sweep in the crosstown rivalry.
Holiday and Wilkes notched career highs while engineering the Bruins' comeback and stopping their two-game skid. UCLA (20-10, 11-7 Pac-12) trailed by eight early in the second half after being down 10 in the first half.
The Trojans (21-10, 12-6) had already clinched second place in the league. Their four-game winning streak ended.
Jordan McLaughlin led USC with 19 points, Chimezie Metu had 16 points and 10 rebounds and Elijah Stewart added 12 points.
Holiday's basket tied the game at 60-all. USC led just once after that and got outscored 23-12 over the final eight minutes. The Trojans were held to just two field goals in that stretch.
Holiday scored UCLA's last nine points to end the Bruins' two-game skid at Galen Center.
The Bruins won 82-79 on Thomas Welsh's 3-pointer at UCLA on Feb. 3.
BIG PICTURE:
USC: The Trojans have won 20 or more games for the third straight season. They did so despite being caught up in the FBI investigation involving corruption in college basketball that saw assistant Tony Bland let go after his arrest and guard De'Anthony Melton held out all season until he announced he was leaving school on Feb. 21. They also lost second-leading scorer and rebounder Bennie Boatwright, who was injured Feb. 18 and is out for the rest of the season.
UCLA: After a shoplifting incident that led to the suspension of three players to start the season, the Bruins went 11-3 in the early going. They struggled at times once league play began, but now head into the postseason with some momentum.
UP NEXT
USC opens Pac-12 tournament play on Thursday in Las Vegas as the No. 2 seed.
UCLA heads to Vegas for the league tournament.
