Wilkinson Posts Big Minutes

The biggest surprise of the first half Saturday at the McKale Center wasn’t that USC stayed within striking distance of Arizona but that it did so with Keith Wilkinson manning the post for such a long stretch.

The freshman forward played 13 minutes, more than he had in any game this season, and made a three-pointer with 5:10 left before halftime to give the Trojans their last lead of the game.

“The shot clock was winding down and the guy was off me a little bit, so I just decided I needed to step up and hit a big shot and it went down,” said Wilkinson, who finished with five points, two rebounds and one assist in a season-high 25 minutes.

USC Coach Tim Floyd said he wanted to use Wilkinson more than usual because he thought the big man could handle Arizona’s pressure better than his other interior players. When the 6-foot-9, 215-pounder met the challenge in the early going, Floyd rewarded him with more minutes in the second half of the Wildcats’ 74-63 victory.

“I think I played all right,” said Wilkinson, who did not commit a turnover. “I came into a pretty big atmosphere and got a lot of minutes for the first time this year playing at a big place against a good team like Arizona. I wish I could have [rebounded] a little bit more, but I felt like I helped the team offensively getting into play.”

Wilkinson, who did not play Thursday against Arizona State and was averaging only 4.4 minutes in the seven games he had played, acknowledged feeling nervous when he replaced starting center Abdoulaye N’diaye with 15:27 remaining in the first half.

“When I checked into the scorer’s table I had the butterflies in the stomach and was kind of a little shaky,” Wilkinson said, “but when you get in there and catch your first pass it’s like the crowd’s gone and you’re just playing and having fun.”

*

Lodrick Stewart stayed up until 2 a.m. Saturday icing his sore right ankle in an effort to play against the Wildcats, and the junior guard was in the starting lineup as usual.

Stewart, who had sprained the ankle Thursday against Arizona State, finished with 16 points and seven rebounds in 32 minutes. He made six of 12 shots, including two of six from behind the three-point line.

“My shooting was a little off, but I gave it my all,” he said.

UP NEXT

Thursday vs. Washington, 7:30 p.m., Sports Arena, Fox Sports Net -- Senior guard Brandon Roy is averaging 18.5 points and 5.2 rebounds for the Huskies, who have not lost at the Sports Arena since the 2001-02 season.