USC frustrates Arizona, 70-58

TUCSON -- When the water bottle came flying onto the court near the USC bench in the final seconds Thursday night, the Trojans had literally withstood everything thrown their way.

And then there was Arizona, which succumbed to a smothering USC defense that held the Wildcats’ top two players to single digits during the Trojans’ 70-58 victory at the McKale Center.

USC’s triangle-and-two defense limited Arizona freshman Jerryd Bayless and sophomore Chase Budinger to a combined 15 points, a fraction of the 39 points they had combined for during the Wildcats’ victory over the Trojans last month at the Galen Center.

Budinger made three of eight shots and finished with seven points; Bayless made two of six shots and had eight points.

“That was our game plan right from the start,” said USC freshman forward Davon Jefferson, who had 15 points and 14 rebounds. “We wanted to try and make someone other than their top two players beat us. I thought it was definitely why we won.”

The Trojans, who improved to 18-9 overall and 9-6 in the Pacific 10 Conference, also got a boost from sophomore guard Daniel Hackett, who returned from a two-week injury layoff to score all five of his points in the final seven minutes.

Freshman guard O.J. Mayo added 20 points for USC, which clinched its first winning road record in Pac-10 play in six years and posted its first consecutive wins at the McKale Center since the 1981-82 and 1982-83 seasons.

“I’ve never had a team this young, but I know that it’s about competitiveness and it’s about poise and they’ve played with that even though they’re young,” Trojans Coach Tim Floyd said. “Age is sometimes overrated if you have competitors and if you have guys who play with poise, which these guys are doing.”

Arizona (17-11, 7-8) is in danger of having its streak of 23 consecutive NCAA tournament appearances come to an end. Up next is fourth-ranked UCLA on Sunday.

The Wildcats were staggering almost from the start Thursday against USC’s triangle-and-two defense, a combination of zone and man-to-man sets in which the Trojans used two defenders to chase Budinger and Bayless while their other three players formed a triangle in the lane.

USC zipped to a 32-16 lead that loomed even larger when Bayless picked up his third foul with 5 minutes 39 seconds left in the first half and had to go to the bench. The Wildcats rattled off a 10-0 run and eventually closed to within 51-48 with 8:10 left in the game when Bayless converted a fastbreak dunk and drew a foul on Jefferson, who fell awkwardly along the baseline and injured his left leg.

Shortly after, several Trojans stepped up. Mayo drove into the lane and found Hackett in the corner for a three-pointer that gave USC a 55-48 lead. Mayo drew contact on Fendi Onobun on a possession with the shot clock winding down and made two free throws. And Jefferson, his leg wrapped in tape, rebounded a missed free throw by Hackett and made a putback to extend the Trojans’ lead to 66-56 with 56 seconds left.

“The pressure wasn’t on us tonight,” said Hackett, who played 24 minutes after going through his first practice earlier in the day. “The pressure was on the home team.”

The burden proved too much for one Arizona student who flung a water bottle onto the court with about 16 seconds left, hitting USC sophomore guard Dwight Lewis on the right foot and prompting Wildcats Coach Kevin O’Neill to take a courtside microphone and apologize to the Trojans.

“That kind of thing can happen in any arena,” Floyd said. “We’re not bothered about it. It’s one person.”

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ben.bolch@latimes.com

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UP NEXT FOR USC

Saturday at Arizona State, Wells Fargo Arena, 3 p.m. PST, FSN Prime Ticket -- The Sun Devils beat the Trojans last year in Tempe, Ariz., for their first Pacific 10 Conference victory after 14 losses to open conference play. The stakes are much higher this time around for Arizona State, which is hoping to close in on an NCAA tournament invitation. USC won the first meeting this season, 67-53, on Feb. 2 at the Galen Center thanks to freshman O.J. Mayo’s 20 points and sophomore Taj Gibson’s 19.