Isaac Hamilton scores career-high 36 as UCLA blows out USC

LAS VEGAS >> That UCLA beat USC in the Pac-12 Tournament wasn’t much of a surprise.

That Isaac Hamilton was the Bruins’ best offensive player? Well, this was new.

The sophomore guard scored a career-high 36 points in a 96-70 decision over the Trojans on Thursday, one that punched a ticket to the Friday’s 6 p.m. semifinal against No. 1-seed Arizona.

It was an astounding performance, particularly for a player who entered the MGM Grand Garden arena averaging 10.1 points per game. Hamilton had only topped 20 points once in his career. In four of his last eight games, he hadn’t even scored in double digits.

Against USC, he had 18 points on 6 of 9 shooting by halftime, and hit six straight in the second half before finally missing a 3-pointer. Everything was falling, from corner 3-pointers to contested layups that sent him sprawling to the floor.

When Hamilton blew past his old personal record of 21, there were more than 18 minutes left on the game clock. In a yet another blowout of USC — the Bruins have now won 10 of their last 11 against the Trojans — the only intrigue left was whether or not he could catch Klay Thompson’s conference tournament record of 43. He didn’t quite get there, but his scoring total was still the most by any Bruin since Dijon Thompson, who had 39 against Arizona State on February 10, 2005.

Hamilton also had four assists and two steals.