USC Wins With No Time Left and Knocks Arizona Out of Tie for Lead, 63-62

There was no time remaining when Arizona’s Joe Turner, a 6-9 sophomore center from Bakersfield, went to the free-throw line in Thursday night’s game against USC at the Sports Arena.

It was, indeed, a pressure situation, with the Trojans clinging to a two-point lead after a rather remarkable comeback in the second half.

Turner was shooting two foul shots, and of course, he had to make both to force an overtime. USC rooters behind the basket waved banners, sweat shirts and anything they could find to distract Turner.

But Turner banked the first attempt through the net, hardly a clean shot. The bedlam increased as he got set for his second shot. This one he missed, and USC won a key Pacific 10 game, 63-62, before a raucous crowd of 4,587.

If the Trojans had lost, they would have lost contact with the league leaders. However, by winning, USC is now 2-3, while Arizona is 3-1.

Oregon State is still unbeaten at 4-0. Washington is 4-1.

It seemed that USC was hopelessly beaten when it trailed, 50-37, midway through the second half, the result of a 13-2 Arizona run.

But the Trojans kept clawing away at the lead with an unlikely lineup: four freshman--Tom Lewis, Hank Gathers, Bo Kimble and Rich Grande--along with junior forward Derrick Dowell.

USC never led in the game until Dowell hit a short bank shot with 26 seconds remaining.

Arizona then called time out, and when play resumed, freshman forward Sean Elliott drove the lane and put up a shot that spun out of the basket with three seconds left. Another freshman, Anthony Cook, tried a follow shot that missed, and then Turner got the ball and went up for an apparent shot.

But he was fouled by Grande. That wasn’t immediately known, though, and the officials had to clear the floor to allow Turner to go to the line. The clock expired in the confusion. But Turner still had his free throws to shoot.

“I was nervous,” Turner said later, “and, when I banked in that first free throw, it didn’t help me any.”

USC made its comeback with a smothering, pressing defense that forced Arizona into ball control errors.

At one point, Wildcat guard Steve Kerr had to call a timeout because he was trapped in his backcourt.

Then, when play resumed, guard Craig McMillan was double-teamed by Dowell and Grande, and stepped out of bounds.

Dowell then made a layup as USC closed to 59-57 with 3:27 to play. Kerr gave the Wildcats some breathing room by making two free throws.

Gathers got USC closer with two foul shots, and after McMillan traveled, Lewis got his team even at 61-61 with a pair of free throws.

Dowell then blocked McMillan’s shot from the base line, but Gathers couldn’t handle Lewis’ pass at the other end, the ball going out of bounds. Kerr missed from 20 feet, Dowell snapping up the rebound with one minute to play.

USC called a timeout with 53 seconds left, and then Dowell got in close for his winning basket.

Of Turner’s .500 performance at the line, USC Coach Stan Morrison said: “After he made that first one, I became an atheist. There was no God. But we got it back (by the miss).”

Although Turner is young, he was shooting 75% from the line, 15 of 20, going into the game. A good percentage that slipped some.

Arizona Coach Lute Olson said: “The key was in the second half when they increased their intensity and we didn’t properly respond. The game was there for our taking.”

So it seemed.

After Lewis provided USC with a tie at 37-37 on a base-line shot, Arizona made its move.

Elliott, a smooth freshman forward, got a three-point play before center John Edgar made a one-handed slam. Cook scored when center Rod Keller was cited for goaltending, and the Wildcats were pulling away.

The margin got wider with four more points by Elliott. All USC could answer with was two foul shots by Dowell. The Trojans went almost five minutes without a basket, and reserve forward Brad Winslow committed two turnovers while Arizona was streaking.

Morrison had said earlier in the week that he was going to make a lineup change. Gathers opened at center in place of Keller. But Gathers quickly sat down after two quick fouls.

The USC coach kept experimenting with his lineup, shuffling players on and off the floor.

It was surprising, though, that Grande was in the game during the critical final minutes. He had replaced USC’s senior floor leader, Larry Friend, who is usually in the game in clutch situations.

But Grande was steady, as were the other freshmen. Dowell was, of course, the steadying influence. He got 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting and grabbed 8 rebounds.

Lewis responded with 20 points, and Grande got 4 points and 3 assists and only 1 turnover in the 21 minutes he played.

The Trojans stayed in the game with perfect free-throw shooting: 15 of 15.

USC is 7-7 overall, while Arizona is 11-5. It was the Wildcats’ first league game on the road, and they eventually succumbed to the pressure.