Pac-12 roundup: No. 1 Arizona holds off UCLA

Arizona took its lumps against UCLA last season, losing three times to its Pac-12 rival. Those defeats stuck in the minds of the Wildcats, especially when they let a commanding lead slip away in the latest matchup.

Nick Johnson scored 22 points and the top-ranked Wildcats withstood UCLA’s late 15-1 run to beat the Bruins 79-75 Thursday night in Los Angeles, equaling the best start in school history at 16-0.

“We’re undefeated and we’ll keep it like that if we can keep churning out wins and not worry about who our opponent is or how special it is, and just play our game,” Johnson said.

The Wildcats blew a 13-point lead with 6:16 to play and committed a season-worst 17 turnovers. UCLA shot 41 percent in the second half against a team that had been holding opponents to 36 percent in the final 20 minutes.

“Losing to them three times last year definitely made us more hungry,” said Gabe York, who had 12 points. “None of us forgot that.”

Kyle Anderson had 16 points and 11 rebounds, and Jordan Adams added 12 points and a career-high 11 rebounds for the Bruins (12-3, 1-1). They haven’t beaten a top-ranked team since March 13, 2003, when they took down Arizona in overtime in the Pac-12 tournament.

California 96, (17) Oregon 83: Freshman guard Jordan Matthews scored a season-high 32 points and the Golden Bears beat the Ducks in Eugene, the 12th straight time Cal has beaten Oregon.

Justin Cobbs had 20 points and 11 assists for the California, which shot 52.5 percent and had five players in double figures.

Joseph Young scored 29 for the Ducks, who went 5 of 19 from 3-point range.

Arizona State 79, USC 60: Jordan Bachynski had 20 points and 12 rebounds, Jahii Carson scored 18 points despite being held scoreless for the first 15 minutes, and the Sun Devils rolled to a victory over the Trojans in Los Angeles, snapping USC’s nine-game winning streak at home.

Byron Wesley led the Trojans with 20 points and a career-high 14 rebounds. He was the only player in double figures for USC.

Oregon State 81, Stanford 72: Eric Moreland had 17 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks as the Beavers defeated the Cardinal in Corvallis.

Roberto Nelson scored 21 points for Oregon State and freshman Hallice Cooke, making his first career start, had 16 points.

Chasson Randle scored 30 points and Dwight Powell added 13 points and 10 rebounds for Stanford.