Streaky USC Rolls Past St. Louis, 76-60 : College basketball: Trojans score first 16 points, and other spurts help them stay in control.

USC Coach George Raveling was excited before Monday night’s game against St. Louis, a National Invitation Tournament finalist two of the last three seasons.

“I told them before the game that I was so fired up that I wanted to play myself,” Raveling said. “If somebody wanted to give me their uniform, I’d go out and play.”

Raveling’s enthusiasm carried over to the Trojans, who outscored St. Louis, 16-0, at the start and coasted to a 76-60 victory over the Billikens before 1,654 at the Sports Arena.

“This was the first game that we played this season that I felt we played as a team,” Raveling said. “When you say that the inference is we don’t like each other, but that wasn’t the case. We weren’t thinking as a team. But tonight we played as a team at both ends of the floor.”

The Trojan press forced 26 turnovers and USC (3-1) also played superb defense, as St. Louis (0-2) shot only 37.3%.

USC guard Harold Miner, who had 18 points as the Trojans built a 24-point halftime lead, had 22 points and 11 rebounds in 34 minutes. Miner, who made six of 12 shots in the first half, missed seven of eight shots in the second.

Although Miner is averaging 30.5 points, he might have scored more if Raveling let him play more in the last two games. He sat out the last 10 minutes of Saturday’s victory over Cal State Sacramento and the final five minutes of Monday night’s game.

“I don’t have any interest in him being the leading scorer in the nation, and I don’t think he does,” Raveling said. “If it happens it happens, but we’re certainly not working at it.”

Although the Trojans were a one-man team in their first two games, they have become more balanced. USC had three players other than Miner in double figures against the Billikens.

Guard Phil Glenn sank four three-point shots and scored a career-high 16 points. Trojan guard Duane Cooper added 11 points and passed off for 10 assists. Forward Mark Boyd had 10 points.

“I think we’re beginning to come together,” Cooper said. “We’re becoming a very good team. Things are starting to click for us.”

Glenn, who made his first two three-point shots, helped jump-start the Trojans.

“When Phil Glenn gets on a roll, he’s really tough,” Raveling said. “If he hits his first couple of shots, you can count on him making a lot. We need to get perimeter scoring from him and Duane Cooper to keep the pressure off Harold Miner.”

Center Melvin Robinson, a 7-foot junior, had 18 points and 16 rebounds for St. Louis. GuardJulian Whitfield added 12 points.

“Our veterans didn’t carry us, except for Melvin Robinson,” St. Louis Coach Rich Grawer said. “But you can’t start a game (trailing) 16-0. When you’re down, 16-0, you’re affected psychologically.”

The Trojans took their 16-0 lead 3 1/2 minutes into the game as Glenn, who had 13 first-half points, sank two three-point shots and Miner scored seven points. The Trojans forced seven turnovers in the first 6:02.

Trailing, 23-4, with 14:33 left in the half, St. Louis outscored USC, 18-8, slicing the deficit to nine.

However, USC blitzed the Billikens, 19-4, in the final 6:52 of the first half to take a 24-point lead at the break. Miner scored eight of his 18-first half points in the spurt.

St. Louis, which missed six of its first eight shots, shot only 35.5% in the first half, missing 20 of 31 shots. The Billikens also had 15 turnovers.

USC seemed to lose interest in the second half, scoring only seven points in the first 11 minutes of the second half as the Billikens outscored them, 18-8.

USC, which shot 25.8% in the second half, missed 13 of its first 16 shots in the second half before Miner’s dunk with 8:52 left.

“We lost our sense of purpose,” Raveling said. “We were in a hurry to get the game over with.”

Trojan Notes

USC forward Lorenzo Orr, held out of Saturday’s victory over Cal State Sacramento for violating team academic rules, returned and played 12 minutes. USC plays at Gonzaga on Wednesday night.