Arizona tops USC 67-62 to reach Pac-10 tourney final

Arizona spent a lost weekend in Los Angeles two weeks ago, getting swept by UCLA and USC instead of clinching the Pac-10 regular-season title.
The Wildcats' latest visit is going much better.
Derrick Williams scored 20 points and No. 16 Arizona held off USC 67-62 Friday night to earn a spot in the Pac-10 tournament title game for the first time since 2005.
"We played better. We handled it better," Wildcats coach Sean Miller said. "I thought part of what's helped us here this weekend is we came here trying to be better than we were a couple weeks ago, and our team is more together and has a better mindset. If there was a total team win we had this season, tonight was the night."
The top-seeded Wildcats (27-6) will play No. 3 seed Washington in Saturday's final. Arizona last won the tournament in 2002.
"As long as we get the win, I'm happy," said Williams, who is from nearby La Mirada.
Arizona had a 25-year NCAA tournament streak end last year when the Wildcats stayed home. But as the Pac-10's highest-ranked team this season, they're headed back regardless of how they fare Saturday.
Marcus Simmons, the Pac-10's defensive player of the year, led the Trojans with a career-high 20 points. Nikola Vucevic scored 12 of his 16 in the second half and had 12 rebounds for USC (19-14).
The fourth-seeded Trojans played without coach Kevin O'Neill, whose suspension for the rest of the tournament was announced by USC two hours before tipoff. He and his wife got into a verbal altercation with an Arizona booster Thursday night at the team hotel.
Bob Cantu, the Trojans' associate head coach, took over and paced the sideline, regularly checking laminated play cards.
"It was different," Vucevic said. "When K.O. is there, he yells a lot, and we didn't hear a lot of yelling."
Cantu found out three hours before the game that he'd be in charge.
A USC fan held up a "Free K.O." sign during the game.
ARIZONA 67, USC 62
USC (19-14) — Stepheson 4-7 0-0 8, Vucevic 6-12 4-5 16, Fontan 3-7 0-0 7, D. Smith 3-11 0-0 7, Simmons 8-11 1-4 20, Jones 2-5 0-0 4, Jackson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-53 5-9 62.
ARIZONA (27-6) — Williams 7-10 5-6 20, Perry 4-7 3-4 11, Hill 0-3 0-1 0, Parrom 3-9 0-1 6, Jones 2-6 2-2 7, Natyazhko 0-1 0-0 0, Mayes 3-6 0-0 8, Fogg 1-4 0-0 3, Lavender 1-1 1-2 4, Horne 3-8 0-0 8. Totals 24-55 11-16 67.
Halftime — Arizona 33-28.
Three-point goals — USC 5-18 (Simmons 3-4, Fontan 1-2, D. Smith 1-6, Jones 0-3, Vucevic 0-3), Arizona 8-19 (Mayes 2-3, Horne 2-6, Lavender 1-1, Fogg 1-2, Jones 1-2, Williams 1-3, Parrom 0-1, Natyazhko 0-1). Fouled out — None. Rebounds — USC 30 (Vucevic 12), Arizona 32 (Parrom, Williams 6). Assists — USC 15 (Fontan, Vucevic 5), Arizona 13 (Mayes, Parrom 3). Total fouls — USC 17, Arizona 12.