Jan. 5, 1998

USC Falls to No. 5 Arizona

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - Miles Simon converted two 3-point plays during a 17-0 run in the second half Monday night that rallied No. 5 Arizona to a 91-72 win over Southern Cal.

The Wildcats (11-3 overall, 2-0 Pac-10), apparently sluggish after an emotional victory over UCLA two days earlier, trailed by eight points early in the second half before taking control.

Simon scored 26 points, Michael Dickerson had 18 and A.J. Bramlett added 11 points and 15 rebounds.

The Trojans (4-8, 0-2) got 30 points from Gary Johnson and 20 from Elias Ayuso but still dropped their seventh straight.

Southern Cal led 44-36 with 18 minutes remaining following Johnson's 3-pointer. The Wildcats responded with full-court pressure to force USC into 10 turnovers over the next six minutes.

The miscues allowed Arizona to pick up the game's pace, leaving Simon and Davison open. Simon's second 3-point gave the Wildcats a 46-44 lead.

Davison scored eights points in the spurt, helped by a couple of steals by Terry, whose 3-pointer gave Arizona a 51-44 lead.

The Wildcats held off a couple of USC runs with 3-pointers by Simon and Dickerson in the final four minutes.