Bo Kimble’s 22 Points Play a Big Role as USC Defeats Oregon, 75-60

Bo Kimble wasn’t quite sure what his role was on the USC basketball team. So he approached Coach Stan Morrison after USC lost to Oregon State Dec. 22 and asked him how he could contribute more.

“He said that he wanted me to penetrate more on offense and that would open up things for me and the team,” Kimble said.

Kimble, a 6-4 freshman guard, heeded Morrison’s advice Sunday afternoon at the Forum. He scored a season-high 22 points and shut down Oregon’s high-scoring guard, Anthony Taylor, as the Trojans beat the Ducks, 75-60, before a cozy gathering of 2,512.

The victory enabled USC to even its Pacific 10 record at 1-1. The Trojans are 6-5 overall, while the Ducks are 0-2 in league play and 5-7 for the season.

Kimble is part of the Philadelphia connection that Morrison brought to the West Coast this season. His high school teammate, 6-7 forward Hank Gathers, also asserted himself against Oregon.

Gathers had a season-high 15 points on 7-of-7 shooting, mostly inside work, while pulling down 5 rebounds.

The Trojans were playing without freshman guard Tom Lewis, who has a sprained right ankle. But the team took up the slack with alert defense, knocking the ball loose, or stealing passes in the second half to break open a close game.

The teams were tied at halftime, 28-28, but USC gradually pulled away in the second half while frustrating Oregon.

“I’m happy because we played liked we practiced,” Morrison said. “We had four practices this week that were like last year. I don’t know what they’re eating for breakfast, but I want them to keep eating it.

“We’ve got to win with our defense, and we played good defense most of the game. We jarred the ball loose (especially in the second half) and got things going on the spread court.”

Kimble and Gathers made significant contributions. So did 6-6 forward Derrick Dowell, who didn’t start because he has been bothered by stomach flu.

But he got into the game inside the first five minutes and was an instant catalyst. He finished with a game-high 22 points on 9-of-18 shooting with 10 rebounds.

The Trojans were protecting a 38-36 lead early in the second half when they made their move. Kimble got things going with a three-point play that was matched by Dowell. Gathers scored on a layup and so did Kevin Steward for a 48-40 advantage.

The Ducks closed to 48-44 before Morrison called a timeout. When play resumed, the Trojans put the Ducks away for good.

Gathers hit a short jump shot from the baseline before Dowell made another three-point play. Gathers stole a pass, whipped the ball to Kimble, who found Dowell streaking for the basket.

Gathers got two more layups while blocking a shot and the Trojans were breezing at 57-46 with 5:42 remaining. The Ducks didn’t get any closer than seven points thereafter.

“We really opened up the game on defense and then our offense started to flow,” said Gathers, who added that he had to perfect certain fundamentals this season, such as weakside help and boxing off the boards.

Morrison has four freshmen on his roster, and Gathers says it has taken time for the young players to blend in with the rest of the team.

Oregon outrebounded USC by seven in the first half, but the Trojans took charge of the boards in the second half and had a 29-27 edge for the game.

Another key factor was Kimble’s surveillance of Taylor, who equaled a season low with only 10 points. He came into the game averaging 18.5 points.

“I noticed that he doesn’t go to his left, so I took away his right hand and kept him from penetrating,” Kimble said. “I was fortunate because he’s a very good player.”

Morrison: “Bo is just going to get better. He started slowly today, but like all good shooters he kept after it. He had good awareness of the score and the time left on the clock.”

Morrison has said that his young team is improving, adding: “It’s an upward chart. We may have a dip now and then with this young team, but we had to get this one before we go on the road.”

USC will play Washington State Thursday night in Pullman, Wash., before meeting Washington Saturday in Seattle.

The Trojans swept their games in the Northwest last season on the way to the co-championship of the Pac-10. A split this season would seem to be a more realistic goal.

Trojan Notes Hank Gathers tied a school record for field-goal percentage in a game, a minimum of five attempts. His 7-for-7 shooting equaled Jack Lovrich in 1956 and George Ratkovich in 1978. . . . USC has yet to lose at the Forum with a 4-0 record. . . . Oregon’s Jerry Adams, the leading rebounder in the Pac-10, grabbed eight rebounds, but was credited with only one in the second half. . . . “We were tentative offensively,” Oregon Coach Don Monson said. “We had to change too many shots. I’ve always said you can’t worry about getting shots blocked.” . . . USC blocked 4 shots along with 10 steals, 3 each by Derrick Dowell and Larry Friend, who also had 8 assists. “Our offense has been struggling, but it will come around,” Friend said. “We’re coming up with loose balls, which we weren’t doing before. If we keep playing good defense, we can win the Pac-10.” . . . Stan Morrison said that he anticipates that Tom Lewis will be able to play against Washington State and Washington.