LOS ANGELES_Aaron Holiday's three-pointer bounced out of the rim, smacked against the backboard and bounced back through the net.
He needed no such luck on his next shot, driving for a left-handed layup. Holiday pumped his arm on the way back up the court, UCLA's lead nearing double digits in the final minutes of a must-win game against its biggest rival.
Holiday carried the Bruins to an 83-72 victory over USC on Saturday night at Galen Center, squeezing every ounce of effort out of his 40 minutes and allowing himself another moment to celebrate when he forcefully clapped his hands after dribbling out the game's final seconds.
Holiday finished with 34 points on 11-for-16 shooting to go with seven assists and five rebounds to help the Bruins (20-10 overall and 11-7 Pac-12 Conference) sweep their season series with the Trojans (21-10, 12-6) while greatly enhancing their NCAA tournament chances.
USC seniors Jordan McLaughlin and Elijah Stewart could only walk off the court in somber fashion after ending their final home game with a thud, the Trojans' four-game winning streak a thing of the past.
UCLA secured the No. 4 seeding in the Pac-12 Conference tournament and will play in a quarterfinal Thursday against the winner of a first-round game between fifth-seeded Stanford and 12th-seeded California.
USC will open the tournament on the same day with a No. 2 seeding in a quarterfinal against the winner of a first-round game between seventh-seeded Washington and 10th-seeded Oregon State.
Holiday and forward Kris Wilkes (22) carried the Bruins, who made 13 of 27 three-pointers while holding the Trojans to five-of-19 shooting from long range. No other UCLA player reached double figures in scoring.
USC was more balanced, with McLaughlin scoring 19 points, Chimezie Metu getting 16 and Stewart adding 12. It wasn't enough.
There was some symmetry with the teams' first meeting this season as UCLA wiped out a big second-half deficit for the second consecutive time. After erasing a nine-point disadvantage last month in the final eight minutes at Pauley Pavilion, the Bruins expunged the eight-point cushion the Trojans held after Stewart stole the ball from Holiday and fed Shaqquan Aaron for a breakaway dunk.
Holiday continually inflicted damage with his passing and scoring, giving the Bruins a 65-61 lead after a three-pointer in transition. UCLA eventually extended its advantage to 72-63 when Wilkes drove and passed to Alex Olesinski for a corner three-pointer.
There were handshakes and hugs before the game when USC recognized its seniors before their final home game. McLaughlin, Stewart and walk-on Kurt Karis were honored with video tributes and framed jerseys as well as the roars of the crowd as they walked onto the court accompanied by family members.
Stewart played in his 133th game, tying the school record previously set by Dwight Lewis.
Both teams were a bit short-handed. UCLA was missing freshman point guard Jaylen Hands, who sprained his right ankle in practice this week. His absence reduced the Bruins' regular rotation to seven players and necessitated guard Prince Ali moving into the starting lineup and giving walk-on guard Alec Wulff meaningful minutes.
USC played its fourth straight game without junior Bennie Boatwright, who has been sidelined for the rest of the season with a left knee injury.
USC's 43-40 halftime lead qualified as a bit of a letdown for the Trojans considering they had been up by 10 only a few minutes earlier. UCLA got an unlikely accomplice in wiping out its deficit in Wulff, who came off the bench to confidently rise for a three-pointer that helped sustain his team's 11-0 run.
The entire Bruins bench stood to cheer the shot and had more to celebrate when Wilkes buried a corner three-pointer that pushed UCLA into a 31-30 lead before the teams went back and forth for the balance of the half.
USC had raced to an early seven-point lead on the strength of some highlight passes, including a McLaughlin alley-oop lob from halfcourt that Metu grabbed for a dunk. Jordan Usher also zipped a pass inside to Stewart underneath the basket for a dunk against a late-closing Bruins defense.
