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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Top 25 roundup: Nico Mannion scores 20, No. 23 Arizona holds off USC 85-80

Arizona guard Nico Mannion (1) drives on Southern California guard Kyle Sturdivant during Thursday’s game. Arizona won 85-80. (Rick Scuteri / Associated Press)
Associated Press

TUSCON, Ariz. – Nico Mannion scored 20 points, Zeke Nnaji and Josh Green each added 18 and No. 23 Arizona held on for an 85-80 win over Southern Cal on Thursday night.

Arizona (16-6, 6-3 Pac-12) has won five of its past six and was in full control for most of this one until the final minutes.

The Wildcats led by as many as 20 during the second half, pushing to a 63-43 advantage with 12:55 remaining. USC slowly chipped away and pulled within 83-80 with five seconds left on a 3-pointer by Jonah Mathews, but Mannion responded with a pair of free throws to stop the rally.

Mannion scored 12 of his points on free throws. Nnaji grabbed 11 rebounds.

USC (17-6, 6-4) has lost back-to-back games for the first time this season. The Trojans were led by Onyeka Okongwu with 23 points. Daniel Utomi added 22 points.

(24) Colorado 71, California 65

BOULDER, Colo. – Tyler Bey scored a season-high 21 points, McKinley Wright IV had 17 points and Colorado made key free throws down the stretch to beat California.

D’Shawn Schwartz added 14 points for Colorado (18-5, 7-3 Pac-12), which won for the fourth time in five games.

Matt Bradley had 17 points to lead Cal (10-12, 4-5) which remained winless away from its home court, dropping to 0-6 on the road and 0-3 on neutral courts this season.

(25) Houston 75, Tulane 62

HOUSTON – Caleb Mills scored 18 points, Quentin Grimes added 15 and Houston beat Tulane.

Nate Hinton added 12 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists for Houston (18-5, 8-2 American). The Cougars bounced back after losing to Cincinnati 64-62 on Saturday. Houston is 15-0 after a loss over the last three seasons.

Teshaun Hightown had 17 points, K.J. Lawson added 13 points and Nobal Days scored 10 points to lead the Green Wave (10-12, 2-8).