UCLA finishes sweep of USC with 83-73 win

UCLA's Zach LaVine, from left, Norman Powell celebrate after Powell hits two three within minutes of each other USC Saturday. Teammate Kyle Anderson walks to a timeout huddle, right. ROD VEAL, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER OC REGISTER

Associated Press via ESPN.com

10:30 PM ET, February 8, 2014

Galen Center, Los Angeles, California

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LOS ANGELES -- Norman Powell scored 10 of his 21 points during a 3 1/2 minute span of the second half, Jordan Adams had 17 points and eight rebounds, and UCLA completed a season sweep of USC with an 83-73 victory on Saturday night.

Kyle Anderson had 15 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists for UCLA (18-5, 7-3 Pac-12), helping the Bruins beat their archrivals for the seventh time in the last eight meetings.

Byron Wesley had 27 points, eight rebounds and four assists for USC (10-13, 1-9). The Trojans have lost four in a row and nine of 10, all against conference teams, following a 9-4 start against non-conference opponents. Two of those losses were to Stanford and Oregon State, marking the first back-to-back overtime defeats in school history.

UCLA equaled its highest point total ever against USC on Jan. 5 at Pauley Pavilion, scoring 36 points in transition during a 107-73 rout -- the first time the schools faced each other in the conference opener since 1991.

Trojans 7-foot-2 center Omar Oraby fouled out of that one with more than 7 1-2 minutes remaining after injuring his left ankle early in the game, and played 14 minutes without a rebound. He had five points and six boards in the rematch.

The Bruins, trying to avoid the second-half blahs that plagued them in their previous three games, stormed out of the locker room after intermission with a 10-0 run that turned a six-point halftime deficit into a 45-41 lead with 17:13 left in the game. David Wear capped the rally with a 3-pointer, one of 10 by UCLA in 20 attempts.

J.T. Terrell hit a 3 and Nikola Jovanovic added a layup 20 seconds later to put the Trojans back in front 46-45 with 16:38 to play, but it was the last time they led. UCLA scored the next 14 points -- including 3s by Powell and Adams -- to build a 59-46 cushion, and USC got no closer than 78-71 on a three-point play by Wesley with 1:49 remaining.

Wesley, who had 21 points in the previous meeting, powered USC to a 41-35 halftime lead with 18 points while going 4 for 4 behind the arc. Neither team led by more than five until the junior guard from Rancho Cucamonga hit back-to-back 3s and added a layup during a 3 1-2 minute span to help the Trojans pull ahead 34-24 with 4:48 left in the half.

After each of Wesley's first two baskets, Oraby blocked a layup at the other end -- one byZach LaVine, the other by Tony Parker.

UCLA eventually cut the deficit to 35-33 with a layup by Wear, a 3-pointer by Adams and a pair of free throws by LaVine with 2:07 on the clock, but Wesley answered with another 3 and Pe'Shon Howard made a slick pass in the lane to D.J. Haley for a dunk with 4.2 seconds left. Howard finished with seven assists and 14 points.

Bruins coach Steve Alford came in 2-0 against the Trojans, both victories coming while he was coaching New Mexico.

This was the first time the Trojans and Bruins both began a season with new head coaches since the 1979-80 campaign, when Bob Boyd handed the reins to Stan Morrison after 13 seasons at the helm at USC. Over in Westwood, Larry Brown took over the Bruins after back-to-back conference championships and a combined 50-8 record in Gary Cunningham's two seasons there -- both of which ended with UCLA as the second-ranked team in the nation.

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