LOS ANGELES — A day earlier, Ohio State sophomore sub LaQuinton Ross camped out at Kobe Bryant’s locker in the bowels of Staples Center like he owned the place.
Thursday night — on the very hardwood where Bryant works his home-game magic for the Lakers — Ross unleashed his inner Kobe on Arizona in a thrilling 73-70 Buckeyes’ victory in the NCAA Tournament West Region semifinal.
Ross’ rainbow 3-pointer with two seconds remaining broke a 70-70 tie in an instant classic and sent 29-7 Ohio State into the Elite Eight to play Wichita State, which beat La Salle.
“Someone showed ‘Q’ where Kobe Bryant’s locker was and he set up in there and hasn’t let anyone sit there since,’’ Ohio State’s Sam Thompson said. “Obviously it rubbed off on him.’’
Said Ross on finding out where Bryant’s locker was: “I called dibs on it.’’
Ross, a tough matchup because of his 6-foot-8 size and athleticism, had just three points in the first half and finished with 17 on 5-of-8 shooting, including both he took from long distance.
“The one thing I really had my eye on was LaQuinton Ross,’’ Arizona coach Sean Miller said. “If you look at Ohio State’s winning streak [11 in a row and counting], when he enters the game it changes things in a positive way for their team.’’
On the game-winning play, which came moments after the Wildcats (27-8) tied it on a 3-point play by Mark Lyons (who led all scorers with 23), Arizona was expecting Ohio State point guard Aaron Craft to drive to the basket and take the shot.
Craft (13 points, five assists) faked a move into the paint, drew the Arizona defense, which failed to make a proper switch, and kicked it out to Ross, who let fly the game-winner.
“It feels great, man,’’ Ross said. “This is what every player growing up looking at TV [dreams about] — to win the game and hit the big shot in the NCAA or the NBA.’’
Moments before, it was Ross who fouled Lyons, which led to the game-tying 3-point play.
“When I got the foul, I was kind of upset, and my players grabbed me and told me to calm down and worry about the next play,’’ Ross said.
The next play, of course, is one Ross will remember for the rest of his life.
The Buckeyes survived a sloppy for half in which they fell behind by 11 points, but climbed back into it to trail just 38-34 at the half — thanks to 16 first-half points by their leading scorer, Deshaun Thomas, who finished with 20.
Ohio State ambushed Arizona early in the second half, turning the four-point deficit into a lead by scoring the first 10 points, a run that ballooned to a 16-4 stretch that set the tone for the rest of the game. Ohio State led by as many as 10 in the second half, a 21-point turnaround from its largest deficit in the first.
“They came out in the second half a smacked us in the face,’’ Arizona guard Kevin Parrom, a Bronx native, said.
“We did not lose that game on the last play,’’ Arizona’s Brandon Ashley said. “We lost that game in the beginning of the second half.’’
Ohio State’s furious second-half flurry forced Miller to call three timeouts in the first 8:41 of the half in an attempt to subside the hemorrhaging, saying, “I called those timeouts because I thought our team was reeling.’’
Ohio State coach Thad Matta called the game “about as high-powered a college basketball game as I’ve been a part of,’’ and he’s coached a lot of them.
“We don’t give up,’’ Thomas said. “We show heart. We stand together. We fight together.’’
In the end, Ross threw the last devastating punch — Kobe Bryant style.
“That’s one of my favorite players,’’ Ross said. “Somebody I model my game after.’’
mark.cannizzaro@nypost.com