USC Gets the Upset on a Miner Miracle : College basketball: Cooper finds teammate with time running out as Trojans top No. 4 Buckeyes in overtime, 79-77.

USC guards Harold Miner and Duane Cooper exchanged a glance with 11.8 seconds left in the overtime period of Saturday’s game against Ohio State.

Miner knew the look meant Cooper, inbounding the ball underneath the Trojan basket, would throw him a lob pass. It was USC’s only viable option because there was only one second left on the 45-second clock.

Miner made the short shot over Ohio State forward Tom Brandewie off the pass from Cooper for the last of his 31 points, lifting the Trojans to a 79-77 upset victory over the No. 4 Buckeyes.

“We practice that play all the time in practice,” Miner said. “But usually it’s for the dunk. But I was too far out so I got a layup. Cooper didn’t say anything to me, but I knew what he wanted, so I faked right and went for the lob.”

Ohio State Coach Randy Ayers sensed that the Trojans would run a lob play for Miner.

“We had talked about the lob for Miner in an out-of-bounds situation all night,” Ayers said. “We only gave him two lobs the whole night, but the second one hurt us.”

After Ohio State guard Jim Jackson, who had 28 points, including 22 in the final 25 minutes, missed an off-balance jumper at the buzzer, a Sports Arena crowd of 6,827 flooded the court and mobbed the Trojan players.

“It’s the most exciting win since I’ve been here at USC,” USC Coach George Raveling said. “They’re an outstanding basketball team. Today was just one of those days when the good Lord looked upon us gracefully. I’m not trying to be humble, because I’m not humble.

“This win will be wonderful for our self-esteem. People have counted us out. People were saying that we’re not going to make the NCAA playoffs and we’re an also-ran, but now maybe somebody in the league will take us seriously. “

But the Trojans (7-1), who have won six in a row, didn’t look like an also-ran against the defending Big Ten co-champion Buckeyes, who reached the Sweet 16 last season.

Trailing 69-66 after Ohio State guard Jamaal Brown, who had 23 points, hit a three-point shot with 53 seconds left in regulation, the Trojans tied it at 69-69 when Cooper sank a three-point shot with 21 seconds left. Cooper was the second option on the play, but the Trojans couldn’t get the ball to Miner, so Cooper, who had 18 points and hit four of five three-point shots, took the shot.

“The play was designed for Harold, but they overplayed him,” Cooper said. “They backed off me and that gave me my shot.”

USC had a chance to win it in regulation after Miner stole the ball from Jackson in front of the Ohio State bench with four seconds left. The Trojans called time to set up a play for guard Rodney Chatman, but he was covered and Miner, who had 14 points in the second half, missed an off-balance jumper to send the game into overtime.

“I thought the shot was going in, but I was falling away a little too much and it affected the trajectory of the shot,” Miner said. “I’m glad I got a second shot.”

Jackson and Miner dominated the five-minute overtime period, scoring six points apiece.

“Jimmy Jackson is a great basketball player. He just put that team on his back and carried them down the stretch,” Raveling said. “At crunch time he was absolutely amazing. We tried to put our best athletes on him, but he was too determined. You could tell he wasn’t going to let his team lose.

“But Harold Miner had as much influence on this game as Jackson. We saw two outstanding players and both had saddles on their backs.”

With USC trailing, 77-75, Miner tied it by hitting it two free throws with 1:10 left in overtime after he was fouled by Brown. Miner then stole the ball off USC’s press with 54.8 seconds left to set up his game-winning shot.

The Trojans ran the clock down to 11.8 seconds before Chatman hurried a shot, which was blocked out of bounds by Ohio State’s Jim Jent with one second left on the 45-second clock.

Although the Trojans had a timeout left, they didn’t use it and Miner and Cooper improvised the game-winning shot.

Ohio State, which lost for the first time in seven games this season, will no doubt drop in the polls after losing for the first time in 19 nonconference games.

“I never thought we were the No. 4 team in the country,” Ayers said. “We lost two tremendous players in (center) Perry Carter and (forward) Tregg Lee from last year’s team and we knew it would take this team awhile to develop.”

* HOG TIED: No. 19 Arkansas turns to defense to put the clamps on No. 2 Arizona in a 65-59 victory at Fayetteville, Ark. C4