Trojans Wilt as Wildcats Swarm to Task

It happened again.

And no one was surprised, least of all USC.

What was different about the Trojans’ latest collapse, however, was how stunningly quick it was Thursday night against a swarming Arizona defense that turned the second half of the 16th-ranked Wildcats’ 97-70 demolition of USC into a highlight reel of steals and dunks, pleasing the McKale Center crowd of 14,578.

USC, which has lost six of seven since beating Arizona at the Sports Arena on Jan. 15, fell to 9-12 overall, 4-8 in Pacific 10 Conference play. Arizona, which had dropped three of its previous four games, improved to 15-6, 7-5.

After scoring the first nine points of the game and taking a 40-39 lead into halftime, USC still led, 53-52, with 14 minutes 30 seconds to play and could entertain thoughts of its first sweep of the Wildcats since 1983 and its first victory in Tucson since 1985. Then, said Trojan Coach Henry Bibby, “The bottom fell out.

“We didn’t protect the basketball. They found a weakness in us, that was the pressure. They turned the heat up on us.”

The Trojans, who shot 26.5% in the second half, a season-low 34.8% for the game, wilted.

Arizona harassed USC’s point guards -- freshman Rodrick Stewart, who returned to the starting lineup, and junior Derrick Craven -- and converted a spate of steals into easy baskets, taking off on a 14-0 run over a span of 3:06 that grew into a 23-5 scoring spurt.

The next thing the Trojans knew, they were trailing by nearly 30 points.

“They went on that run and we had no answer,” said junior power forward Gregg Guenther, who started for the first time this season and responded with a career-high 17 points and nine rebounds in 28 minutes. “It was like we got complacent [with the lead]. That’s been our M.O. this year.

“We’ve just got to be smarter with the ball.”

In getting the game-turning run started, Arizona unleashed sophomore guard and defensive specialist Chris Rodgers on USC’s ball-handlers.

“Once we turned up our defense it changed the game around,” said Rodgers, who started the second half at the point and had four steals. “We really picked up our intensity and energy in the second half.”

Craven, who forgot his contact lenses and left them at the team hotel, and Stewart were a combined 0 for 10 shooting from the field, four for eight on free throws.

They combined for two assists and two turnovers, though it seemed like more.

“I don’t know what happened,” Craven said. “I just couldn’t handle the ball.

“We were trying, we just couldn’t get it going.

“It was real intense in there.”

And his missing contacts?

“They’re not a necessity for me,” he said. “They just make things clearer for me.”

Things were anything but clear for Desmon Farmer, USC’s leading scorer.

The senior guard, who scored a career-high 40 points against Arizona last month, was held to 11 points on four-for-15 shooting by Arizona’s pesky Salim Stoudamire, who led the Wildcats with 22 points.

Farmer also was frequently substituted for by Bibby, a ploy the coach said was intended to help the frustrated Farmer get his head back in the game.

“I think sometimes Desmon takes himself out of the game,” Bibby said. “He was frustrated with the hand-checking -- both teams were doing it -- and we tried to calm him down a little bit.

“I want the game to come to Des.”

Said Farmer: “They were playing like a box-and-one on me. They played me real tough but I missed some easy shots as well in the paint.

“I think my team needed me to be emotional and be hyped but I couldn’t get in a groove.”

Instead, it was Arizona that was grooving, to the beat of a blowout victory.

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Senior center Jonathan Oliver was the only Trojan who did not play as walk-ons Joe Buck and Andrew Moore got into the game. Bibby said he was going to start Oliver but a bad practice by him on Wednesday changed the coach’s mind.... With three minutes remaining, referee Bruce Hicks ejected two fans sitting behind the courtside media section for heckling him.