Dowell Scores 24 as Trojans Upset Beavers

Derrick Dowell scored 24 points and grabbed 14 rebounds Saturday to lead USC to a 65-55 upset win over Oregon State in a Pacific 10 basketball game at Corvallis, Ore.

It was the third straight loss for Oregon State, dropping the Beavers to 18-7 overall and 10-6 in the Pac-10, two games behind UCLA and Arizona. USC, which ended a seven-game losing streak,is 9-17 and 4-13.

Senior center Jose Ortiz led Oregon State with 21 points and 7 rebounds. Ortiz slipped inside for a layup to give Oregon State its last lead of the game at 19-17 with 11 minutes to go in the first half. The Trojans countered with a 14-2 run and led at halftime, 35-30.

Oregon State cut the margin to 37-36 early in the second half on an Ortiz free throw but the Trojans hit 6 of 6 from the foul line in the final minute to close the door on the Beavers.

Brad Winslow was the only other Trojan in double figures, scoring 13 points.

The Beavers finish the regular season next week with games at Washington State and Washington while the Trojans are at UCLA on Thursday for their finale.

Oregon State Coach Ralph Miller credited Dowell for USC’s win.

“He was too much for us to handle, apparently,” Miller said. “No question about it. We could not keep Dowell off the boards. He got 24 points, 11 of them off the boards.”

Miller said turnovers also played a role in the defeat, along with poor shooting in the second half, when the Beavers connected on only 6 of 20 from the field for 30%.

“It is certainly evident that we have, more or less, reached the bottom of our season,” Miller said.

USC Coach George Raveling was overjoyed with the victory.

“When you’re struggling like we are, all wins are good wins,” Raveling said.

The Trojan coach said he keyed the defense on Oregon State’s big man, Ortiz, to throw the Beavers off their pace.

“Chris Munk and Rod Keller did a good job on Ortiz,” Raveling said. “ We wanted to wear him down by making him work hard for the ball. I think it showed at the end of the first half.”

Oregon State lost forward Bill Sherwood only 1 1/2 minutes into the game when Sherwood suffered a knee injury. He’s expected to be sidelined for at least 10 days.