It started to look like USC was going let this one slip away Saturday, that the recent momentum from this team was again due to be reset.
But that only set the stage for some late-game dramatics and another momentous win for these Trojans.
Arizona State star Zylan Cheatham was fouled on purpose with the Sun Devils up 1 and 24.9 seconds remaining. He missed the front end of a one-and-one, putting a charge through the crowd inside the Galen Center, and Bennie Boatwright brought those fans to their feet moments later by swishing a go-ahead 3-pointer with 11.1 seconds on the clock.
Boatwright pumped his fist near midcourt and soaked in the cheers as the Trojans closed in on yet another big Pac-12 win.
Remy Martin, who had tried his best to swing the game to the visitors a few minutes earlier, missed a 3-pointer in the final seconds. Arizona State got one more chance, inbounding the ball with 0.8 seconds left, but Luguentz Dort's deep desperation 3 from the depths of the right wing missed by a wide margin.
With that, USC closed out a 69-67 win for its third straight conference victory.
The Trojans (12-8, 5-2 Pac-12) are now tied for second in the conference standings behind Washington (16-4, 7-0), setting up a pivotal showdown between the teams Wednesday in Seattle.
"It shows that we have dog in us. It shows that we have toughness. It shows that we can hang with the tougher teams," senior guard Shaqquan Aaron said. "That was a gritty, grimy team -- they love to rebound, they're top in the country in rebounding -- and it just showed that we can play with those type of teams."
Boatwright led USC with 17 points, Nick Rakocevic added 15 points and 9 rebounds, Aaron scored 13, Jonah Mathews chipped in 11 and Derryck Thornton had 8 points and 6 assists.
The play design for Boatwright's game winner was a familiar one for he and the Trojans.
"That was the same play, similar play we ran at the end of the Oregon game last year when [Jordan McLaughlin] threw the alley-oop to Chimezie [Metu]," coach Andy Enfield said. "We won the Diamond Head Classic on Bennie popping, making the 3 like he did tonight. So we have some different options on that, and it's a read by the three guys in the action. We put Jonah, Derryck and Bennie in the action and made the right decision and what a great shot."
Moments before Boatwright's big strike, the momentum was anything but on USC's side.
USC had reeled off 13 straight points when Aaron grabbed a steal and raced in for an easy layup midway through the second half. Except he missed it, and Arizona State's Romello White threw down a thunderous dunk on the other end to snap the spurt.
The Trojans still had a 52-46 lead after that, and the game wouldn't swing instantaneously, but the moment had an ominous feel nonetheless and whatever momentum USC had been playing with seemed to stall right there.
Further compounding matters for the Trojans, Rakocevic would pick up his fourth foul with 16:05 left in the game and Boatwright would get whistled for his fourth with 12:27, forcing USC to give each a rest during a key stretch.
After Boatwright missed a pair of free throws much later in the half, Martin would drain back-to-back uncontested 3-pointers to put Arizona State in the lead, 65-62 with under 4 minutes to play.
This is indeed the kind of game USC would have let slip away earlier in the season, but not this time.
Rakocevic answered for USC with a layup and two free throws to put the hosts back ahead, 66-65 before fouling out soon thereafter with 1:35 left to play.
Dort was the beneficiary of that foul and converted two free throws to make it a 67-66 Arizona State lead. It stayed that way into the final 30 seconds when Mathews missed a jumper for USC, which forced the Trojans to then promptly foul Cheatham after the rebound with 24.9 seconds remaining.
He missed, Boatwright didn't and USC's recent resurgence continued.
While the Trojans again got a balanced offensive effort, Enfield was also pleased see his guys hold Arizona State to 30.6-percent shooting, after holding Arizona to 27.8 percent in the last game.
Unlike the back-to-back blowout wins that preceded it, though, Enfield was most complimentary of the resilience he saw from his team Saturday.
"I was just really excited about how they battled," Enfield said. "To see that maturity and that heart that they showed. My excitement was really for our players and to see even guys that weren't shooting the ball great or were making mistakes, they just kept battling all night. It was so impressive, and that's what makes this job fun at times.
"We have a lot of ups and downs, and we've had a lot of ups and downs this year. However, we've been playing very good basketball the last month of the season since mid-December. Bennie's playing like the MVP of our league. Nick is playing great, our guards are just giving great effort and sharing the ball, and we're playing great defense."
USC, Utah and Arizona all have matching 5-2 league records now, sitting two games behind Washington.
The Trojans sure seem to be playing their best basketball of the season, and if they can continue it on the road this week against the Huskies, they could really add some intrigue to this conference race.
"We have a lot of momentum, but that comes from being in the gym, paying attention to [scouting reports], being locked in on drills, being crisp, making sure everything's tight," Boatwright said. "We'll be ready to go for Washington."
NOTES: After scoring 14 points in his return from suspension last game, freshman Kevin Porter Jr. was held scoreless on 0-of-4 shooting in 9-plus minutes.
But that only set the stage for some late-game dramatics and another momentous win for these Trojans.
Arizona State star Zylan Cheatham was fouled on purpose with the Sun Devils up 1 and 24.9 seconds remaining. He missed the front end of a one-and-one, putting a charge through the crowd inside the Galen Center, and Bennie Boatwright brought those fans to their feet moments later by swishing a go-ahead 3-pointer with 11.1 seconds on the clock.
Boatwright pumped his fist near midcourt and soaked in the cheers as the Trojans closed in on yet another big Pac-12 win.
Remy Martin, who had tried his best to swing the game to the visitors a few minutes earlier, missed a 3-pointer in the final seconds. Arizona State got one more chance, inbounding the ball with 0.8 seconds left, but Luguentz Dort's deep desperation 3 from the depths of the right wing missed by a wide margin.
With that, USC closed out a 69-67 win for its third straight conference victory.
The Trojans (12-8, 5-2 Pac-12) are now tied for second in the conference standings behind Washington (16-4, 7-0), setting up a pivotal showdown between the teams Wednesday in Seattle.
"It shows that we have dog in us. It shows that we have toughness. It shows that we can hang with the tougher teams," senior guard Shaqquan Aaron said. "That was a gritty, grimy team -- they love to rebound, they're top in the country in rebounding -- and it just showed that we can play with those type of teams."
Boatwright led USC with 17 points, Nick Rakocevic added 15 points and 9 rebounds, Aaron scored 13, Jonah Mathews chipped in 11 and Derryck Thornton had 8 points and 6 assists.
The play design for Boatwright's game winner was a familiar one for he and the Trojans.
"That was the same play, similar play we ran at the end of the Oregon game last year when [Jordan McLaughlin] threw the alley-oop to Chimezie [Metu]," coach Andy Enfield said. "We won the Diamond Head Classic on Bennie popping, making the 3 like he did tonight. So we have some different options on that, and it's a read by the three guys in the action. We put Jonah, Derryck and Bennie in the action and made the right decision and what a great shot."
Moments before Boatwright's big strike, the momentum was anything but on USC's side.
USC had reeled off 13 straight points when Aaron grabbed a steal and raced in for an easy layup midway through the second half. Except he missed it, and Arizona State's Romello White threw down a thunderous dunk on the other end to snap the spurt.
The Trojans still had a 52-46 lead after that, and the game wouldn't swing instantaneously, but the moment had an ominous feel nonetheless and whatever momentum USC had been playing with seemed to stall right there.
Further compounding matters for the Trojans, Rakocevic would pick up his fourth foul with 16:05 left in the game and Boatwright would get whistled for his fourth with 12:27, forcing USC to give each a rest during a key stretch.
After Boatwright missed a pair of free throws much later in the half, Martin would drain back-to-back uncontested 3-pointers to put Arizona State in the lead, 65-62 with under 4 minutes to play.
This is indeed the kind of game USC would have let slip away earlier in the season, but not this time.
Rakocevic answered for USC with a layup and two free throws to put the hosts back ahead, 66-65 before fouling out soon thereafter with 1:35 left to play.
Dort was the beneficiary of that foul and converted two free throws to make it a 67-66 Arizona State lead. It stayed that way into the final 30 seconds when Mathews missed a jumper for USC, which forced the Trojans to then promptly foul Cheatham after the rebound with 24.9 seconds remaining.
He missed, Boatwright didn't and USC's recent resurgence continued.
While the Trojans again got a balanced offensive effort, Enfield was also pleased see his guys hold Arizona State to 30.6-percent shooting, after holding Arizona to 27.8 percent in the last game.
Unlike the back-to-back blowout wins that preceded it, though, Enfield was most complimentary of the resilience he saw from his team Saturday.
"I was just really excited about how they battled," Enfield said. "To see that maturity and that heart that they showed. My excitement was really for our players and to see even guys that weren't shooting the ball great or were making mistakes, they just kept battling all night. It was so impressive, and that's what makes this job fun at times.
"We have a lot of ups and downs, and we've had a lot of ups and downs this year. However, we've been playing very good basketball the last month of the season since mid-December. Bennie's playing like the MVP of our league. Nick is playing great, our guards are just giving great effort and sharing the ball, and we're playing great defense."
USC, Utah and Arizona all have matching 5-2 league records now, sitting two games behind Washington.
The Trojans sure seem to be playing their best basketball of the season, and if they can continue it on the road this week against the Huskies, they could really add some intrigue to this conference race.
"We have a lot of momentum, but that comes from being in the gym, paying attention to [scouting reports], being locked in on drills, being crisp, making sure everything's tight," Boatwright said. "We'll be ready to go for Washington."
NOTES: After scoring 14 points in his return from suspension last game, freshman Kevin Porter Jr. was held scoreless on 0-of-4 shooting in 9-plus minutes.
