USC Beaten by Unbeaten Arkansas Little Rock

In a battle of Trojans, Carl Brown scored 22 points to lead unbeaten Arkansas Little Rock to a 94-86 win over USC Friday night in the second game of the Illini basketball tournament.

The Arkansas Little Rock Trojans (4-0) will meet No.7-ranked Illinois (5-0) for the championship tonight. Illinois overpowered Duquesne, 112-81, in the opener.

The USC Trojans (4-2) will play Duquesne (2-2) for third place.

Arkansas Little Rock jumped to a 10-4 lead after 4:20 and stretched its margin to 16 points before taking a 42-30 halftime advantage.

USC pulled within 5 points, 88-83, on 2 free throws by Alan Pollard with 29 seconds left. But Brown answered with a pair of free throws four seconds later to clinch the victory.

“We had every chance to win the game,” USC Coach George Raveling said, “and we didn’t get it done.”

USC was led by Chris Moore with 23 points. Ronnie Coleman had 16 points and 8 rebounds.

Arkansas Little Rock won the game at the free-throw line, sinking 25 of 40 while USC was making 13 of 21.

Raveling wasn’t happy with the officiating, and neither was Mike Newell, the Arkansas Little Rock coach.

“It wasn’t a game that will go into the museum of art,” Raveling said. “Mike and I agreed the officiating was bad for both teams, and it had a lot to do with the way the game went.”

In the first game, Lowell Hamilton scored 18 points, making 9 of 11 shots, to lead Illinois to victory.

Illinois coach Lou Henson took at least part of the credit.

“I took him aside before game,” the coach said. “I spent about 5 minutes with him. You see what happened?”

Illinois (5-0) scored the first 7 points and never was threatened. The Illini forced Duquesne into 13 first-half turnovers and led at halftime, 65-40.

“At the 10- or 11-minute mark, they just opened it up,” said Brian Anselmino, who scored 15 points for Duquesne. “They’re a good team. They’re quicker than we are.”

Ken Battle and Marcus Liberty each scored 17 points for Illinois.