USC Sings Same Song Down the Stretch : Basketball: Trojans lose to Cal, 69-66, as they once again blow chances to send game into overtime.

Watching a USC basketball game is like watching a TV rerun. You know how it’s going to end and it never changes.

For the third time in as many games, USC lost a game it could have won, 69-66, to California on Thursday night at the Sports Arena. The Trojans squandered three chances to send the game into overtime in the final 10 seconds.

After Cal guard Billy Dreher missed the front end of a one-and-one free-throw opportunity with 24 seconds remaining, the Trojans advanced the ball to midcourt and called time out with 21 seconds left.

USC set up a play for guard Harold Miner, who had a game-high 20 points. But he missed an open three-point shot from the top of the key with 10 seconds left. Duane Cooper rebounded for the Trojans, but Miner missed another open three-point shot with five seconds left.

“We couldn’t have gotten him any more wide open on those last shots,” USC Coach George Raveling said. “They just wouldn’t go for him.”

After Phil Glenn missed an open three-pointer and Cooper’s shot was blocked in the final 20 seconds of the Trojans’ 87-85 loss to No. 6 Arizona last Thursday, some questioned USC’s decision not to have Miner take the last shots. And the same questions arose after Rodney Chatman missed a shot that would have tied last Sunday’s 84-80 overtime loss to Arizona State.

“Some can argue that Miner should have shot the ball against Arizona,” Raveling said. “He shot it twice tonight and just didn’t make them. I don’t have any argument with the shots we got in all three games.”

Said Miner: “The shots were there. They just didn’t go in. I’ll just have to come back the next time.”

The Trojans got one last shot after Chatman fouled Cal forward Roy Fisher with 2.7 seconds left and Fisher missed the front end of a one-and-one. USC used its final timeout to set up a play with 2.4 seconds left. Forward Ronnie Coleman inbounded the ball to Cooper, but he walked before he could reach the front court, and the Trojans (8-5 overall, 0-4 in the Pacific 10 Conference) lost their fourth consecutive game.

After scoring 18 points in the first half, Miner missed seven of eight shots in the second half.

Raveling said Cal didn’t defend Miner differently in the second half.

“A lot of shots he got were quality shots,” Raveling said. “But he just never got into any kind of rhythm at either end of the floor.

“This and the Maryland game (which the Trojans lost, 72-59, after collapsing in the final 12 minutes) are the two games that hurt the most,” Raveling continued. “At least in the Arizona game and the Arizona State game we played intelligently and we played hard. Tonight we left our best piece of equipment back in the dorms, our heads.”

Yamen Sanders replaced Mark Boyd at forward in the Trojans’ starting lineup, but Sanders couldn’t contain Cal forward Brian Hendrick in the first half.

Hendrick scored 16 points in the first 20 minutes as Cal (6-8, 2-3) took a 40-35 lead at intermission. Hendrick scored 10 of Cal’s first 14 points. But he was ineffective after twisting his ankle 1 1/2 minutes into the second half, scoring only two points after halftime.

Trojan Notes

The Trojans wore American flags on their jerseys in honor of the servicemen participating in the Gulf War and there was a moment of silence before the game. . . . USC freshman forward Kraig Conger will be sidelined indefinitely with bone spurs in his left ankle. . . . Ronnie Coleman returned to the lineup after sitting out last week’s loss at Arizona State, scoring 14 points and grabbing 12 rebounds.