Payton Leads Oregon State to Win Over USC

Gary Payton scored 19 points, handed out 10 assists and had 4 steals Thursday night to lead Oregon State to a 64-55 Pacific 10 basketball victory over USC.

The Beavers, 1-2 in the Pac-10 and 8-3 overall, took the lead for good late in the first half and held off a second-half USC rally to beat the Trojans for the 25th time in their last 29 meetings.

USC, 0-2 in the conference and 7-6 for the season, used a trio of 3-pointers by Anthony Pendleton to build a 19-12 lead midway through the first half.

But Oregon State, which won its fourth in a row, outscored the visitors 23-9 the rest of the half to take a 35-28 lead at intermission. Payton had three assists, a 3-pointer and a 2-pointer to account for the first 12 points of the decisive outburst.

USC rallied within 40-36 on Ronnie Coleman’s rebound basket with 15 minutes to play. But after both teams went scoreless for more than three minutes, Eric Knox hit a 3-pointer to boost the Oregon State lead to 43-36 with 11:51 to play. The Trojans never threatened seriously again.

USC had a 37-22 rebound advantage but committed 19 turnovers against the Beavers’ pressure defense. Oregon State committed 10 turnovers.

Pendleton led the Trojans in scoring with 17 points. Coleman added 15 points and 11 rebounds.

Will Brantley scored 17 points and Knox 15 for the Beavers.