University Southern California Trojans
Trojans Fall to Wildcats
June 21, 1999 | Men's Basketball
March 4, 1999
By BOB BAUM
AP Sports Writer
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - Another loss at Arizona was just about more than USC coach Henry Bibby could take.
After the Trojans were soundly beaten by the 13th-ranked Wildcats 88-73 Thursday night, Bibby refused to allow his players to talk to reporters, then ripped the crowd at McKale Center, where Arizona has won 31 straight games.
"They are one of the rudest crowds in the Pac-10," Bibby said. "It makes it tough to play here. It is not good clean basketball when all they do is yell something derogatory every time we go down the floor."
There is bad blood between Bibby and the Arizona program anyway, since his estranged son, Mike, led the Wildcats to an NCAA championship. Arizona coach Lute Olson refused to get into a debate, declining to comment on Bibby's critical remarks.
Bibby drew a crucial technical foul that helped stifle a USC rally late in the first half and got no help from the officials after that. In the end, Arizona shot 26 more free throws than the Trojans and outscored them from the line 35-16.
Michael Wright, who was 14-for-18 at the line, matched his career high with 22 points and grabbed 13 rebounds as Arizona snapped a two-game losing skid. His mother was in the building to watch him play for the first time this season.
"That was one reason I wanted to play well," he said. "She came all the way from Chicago to see me play."
Wright's fellow freshman, Ruben Douglas, scored a career-best 19 and Jason Terry added 18 points and eight assists as the Wildcats (21-6 overall, 12-5 Pac-10) won their 14th straight over the Trojans at McKale Center.
Back on its home court, Arizona had no trouble shaking off last week's road losses to California and Stanford.
The Trojans (14-12, 6-11) trailed by as many as 17 in the first half. USC briefly cut it to 10, then Arizona scored the last six of the first half and first six of the second to go ahead by 22. The lead eventually reached 24 and the Trojans never got closer than 15 after that.
Wright scored 16 points in the second half. Richard Jefferson added 14 points as four Arizona starters hit double figures.
Olson said Jefferson and Douglas, the two wingmen in the Arizona attack, are the keys to the Wildcats' success in the NCAA tournament.
"We feel like we're sound inside with three guys who can get the job done in there," Olson said, "and JT we know can get the job done out front. So how we do Saturday (against UCLA) and how we do next week, a lot is going to depend whether we've developed far enough on those wings where we can hurt people."
Greg Lakey scored 10 of his 14 in the second half for USC. Quincy Wilder scored all 11 of his points in the second half. Jarvis Turner added 10 for the Trojans. Brian Scalabrine, USC's leading scorer for the season at just under 15 points a game, was bothered by the flu, didn't score and took just one shot in 18 minutes.
Douglas had 10 points in the first 5:04 as the Wildcats, after falling behind 5-4, shot out to leads of 16-6 and 22-8.
Arizona stretched it to 31-14 on Wright's two free throws with 7:42 left in the half.
Turner scored six during a 12-6 spurt to cut the lead to 36-26 on his 16-footer 1:33 before halftime.
But Terry stole the ball and was fouled by Shannon Swillis on the layup try with 1:05 left in the half. Bibby got a technical foul for protesting the call. Terry made all four free throws to make it 40-26, then Justin Wessell made an inside basket to put the Wildcats up 42-26 at the break.
Wright's stuff shot on a lob pass from Terry, and Jefferson's stuff on a lob from Douglas highlighted a 6-0 spurt that put the Wildcats up 48-26 just 1 1/2 minutes into the second half.
