Trojans Rally to Get Sweep in Northwest With 64-58 Victory

USC concluded its week-long march through the Northwest with another road victory Saturday afternoon.

The Trojans beat Washington State, 64-58, in a game that was a lot closer than the final six-point spread.

So USC retained sole possesson of first place in the Pacific 10. The Trojans are now 9-2, and 15-5 overall, with seven league games remaining, four at home.

Arizona is second at 8-3, followed by Oregon State (7-3) and Washington (7-4).

“We’re tired . . . we’re gut-wrenching tired,” USC Coach Stan Morrison said. “We’ve played four games in nine days, but no one is complaining about fatigue. The players come to practice, watch film and understand the job of taking what they’ve seen on film to the games.”

USC has made a habit of winning close games this season. The Trojans beat UCLA, 78-77, in double overtime a week ago Friday night at the Sports Arena. Then, they squeezed by Oregon State, 60-58, Monday night at Corvallis, Ore. on a prayer shot by guard Larry Friend in the final second.

USC had a little more breathing room in beating Washington, 61-50, Thursday night at Seattle. But the outcome of Saturday’s game with the Cougars wasn’t decided until the final minute.

The Trojans’ slim lead was cut to 59-58 when 7-foot WSU center Ken Mathia hit a turnround jump shot from the baseline with 47 seconds remaining.

USC then spread the court, looking for an opening to the basket, or inviting a foul. Glenn Smith, a reserve guard and wingman, was triple-teamed outside of the key.

But he escaped from the pack and drove to the basket for a layup with 27 seconds remaining. After USC called a timeout with 17 second left, WSU guard Keith Morrison drove to the basket, but his shot wouldn’t go down.

The Cougars lost the ball on an inbounds pass before Friend made the first free throw on a one-and-one situation and wingman Ron Holmes followed Friend’s miss with a tip-in with four seconds to play.

“I just saw an opening down the middle and I took it,” said Smith, who missed a layup on a baseline drive with 1:20 left and USC protecting a 59-56 lead. He said he was fouled on the play, but nothing was called.

Better teams than USC have trouble on the road. But the Trojans have somehow turned the home-court advantage of their opponents around. They’re now 6-0 on the road in league play, a rather amazing statistic that may translate into USC’s first conference championship since 1961.

USC had an added incentive to win Saturday before a crowd of 5,400 that trudged through heavy snow to watch the game.

Forward Derrick Dowell told his teammates before the game that he was dedicating the game to his late father, Macon, who died a year ago Saturday.

“There might have been a tendency for us to let down,” Dowell said. “I thought that would give the team incentive to play better.”

It’s USC’s style to pound the ball inside and it was done effectively against a Washington State team that is seemingly better than its 3-8 league record (11-11 overall).

The Cougars were coming off a 66-58 overtime win over UCLA Thursday night at Friel Court.

Forward Wayne Carlander led the Trojan attack, scoring 24 points on 10 of 18 shooting. He scored a season-high 28 points when USC beat WSU, 69-62, last month at Cal State Dominguez Hills. So the Cougars have seen enough of the senior forward.

Carlander was scoring on his sneaky, left-handed, medium range shot, or on layups. He constantly got good position for his shots. And he went the full 40 minutes for the third straight game.

Holmes supported Carlander with 14 points and center Clayton Oliver contributed 11 points. He got his fourth foul with 12:39 left, but didn’t foul out.

Dowell did his bit with nine rebounds while Friend had seven assists. Reserve center Charlie Simpson grabbed five rebounds in his 13 minutes on the court.

Except for a brief spurt at the outset of the game when USC jumped out to a nine-point lead on Carlander’s shooting, the game was ever so close.

USC led at halftime, 33-31, but WSU went ahead by four points early in the second half. Then, the teams either traded the lead, or the score was tied.

Morrison, a 6-3 guard from Cleveland High School, who operates as a forward, bothered the Trojans. He scored 10 of his 17 points in the first half and led his team in rebounding with nine.

But Smith limited Morrison’s effectiveness in the second half. “I just tried to deny him the ball in low and keep him off the boards,” Smith said. “He’s very good.”

Morrison said the key to the win was rebounding and defense in the second half. He also had his team attacking from a spread court in an attempt to tire the Cougars.

USC was picked to finish seventh in a pre-season media and Pac-10 coach’s poll. Surprisingly, WSU Coach Len Stevens predicted that the Trojans would win the conference. No one else was so bold. And he may be right.

“The Trojans are physical and as mentally tough as any team in the league as far as coming at you and not quitting,” Stevens said. “USC is playing with confidence and it’s an aggressive team.”

Olivier, a fifth-year senior, said he is not surprised at USC’s turnaround from an 11-20 season in 1983-84.

“I’ve waited five years for this. We’re for real,” he said. “I hope we get to the Final Four as well as we’re playing. But first we have to win the Pac-10.”

Olivier may be too optimistic about USC’s possible future in the NCAA tournament. But there is no denying that the Trojans are vastly improved, a team with many role players, who are poised when a game is on the line.

“We won’t be complacent,” Dowell said. “There is so much room for improvement. We are no way near our peak.”

USC has now won seven of its last eight games and will meet Arizona State and Arizona next Thursday night and Saturday afternoon in important Pac-10 games at the Sports Arena.

“It will be good to get home,” said Dowell, who added that he was a weary road warrior.