In Panic, Chatman Works a Miracle : College basketball: His shot at the buzzer gives USC a 70-69 victory over Arizona.

USC basketball Coach George Raveling could have killed Rodney Chatman after he forced a shot that missed at the end of the first half of Saturday’s game against Arizona.

But Raveling nearly hugged Chatman to death after he made a 17-foot jump shot as time ran out to lift the 10th-ranked Trojans to a 70-69 victory over second-ranked Arizona before 10,746 at the the Sports Arena.

“Sometimes Rodney frustrates me and I yell at him,” Raveling said. “But he’s been here long enough to know to ignore me when I yell at him. This has been a pattern of his all season long, hitting big shots for us.”

With USC trailing, 69-68, Chatman got a rebound among three Wildcats after Trojan guard Duane Cooper missed a three-point shot with 3.1 seconds remaining. Chatman launched a follow shot that gave the Trojans their fifth consecutive victory over a team ranked in the top five.

“It was one of those storybook endings that only happens in the movies,” Cooper said. “It was right out of the movies.”

USC, 23-5 overall and 15-3 in the Pacific 10, finished second in the the conference, one game behind UCLA (25-4, 16-2). The Trojans would have shared the Pac-10 championship with UCLA if Arizona State had defeated the Bruins, but UCLA beat the Sun Devils, 85-77.

“I’m happy for UCLA and sad for us,” Raveling said after watching the UCLA-Arizona State game on television. “But they won it outright and they were the best team. I wish UCLA and Arizona well in the (NCAA) tournament.”

Although USC failed to win its first conference championship since 1985, it was still an improbable ending to an improbable season for the Trojans, who lost to Arizona by 39 points in their Pac-10 opener last January.

After USC center Yamen Sanders tipped in a missed shot by Harold Miner with 1:15 left to cut Arizona’s lead to 69-68, the Trojans let Arizona run the clock down to 14 seconds before Cooper fouled Wildcat guard Matt Othick.

Othick missed the front end of a one-and-one free-throw opportunity, and Chatman got the rebound. USC called time out with 9.7 seconds left to set up the last play, and Arizona called time out after watching the Trojans line up.

“We were going to inbound the ball to Miner (who scored 21 points) and let him go one-on-one with whoever was guarding him,” Raveling said. “We wanted to put the ball in the hands of our best player and see what he could do. But as it turned out we couldn’t get the ball to him, so we went to Plan B, which was panic. And panic worked. So much for coaching.”

Cooper inbounded the ball to Chatman, who drove the right baseline before he tried to pass it back to Cooper. But Arizona guard Khalid Reeves batted the ball away, and USC forward Mark Boyd dived for the ball in a scramble with several Wildcats.

“I got on my hands and knees, just like you mop the floor if you don’t have a mop, and that’s how I got the ball,” Boyd said.

Boyd batted the ball to Cooper, who missed a three-point shot. But the ball took a long bounce to Chatman, who put it back up to touch off a celebration.

“I didn’t have any time to think,” Chatman said. “I got a good look at the basket. I thought it was going to be short, but it went in. It was the biggest shot I’ve ever hit.”

Said Raveling: “I don’t think we’re the best team in the Pac-10, but I think we beat the two best teams in the Pac-10 in UCLA and Arizona. We’re just a bunch of guys who play hard. It’s the year of the miracle.”

The Trojans needed a miracle to beat Arizona.

With USC trailing by 69-65, Boyd, who had a season-high 13 points, made a free throw with 1:50 remaining. Boyd missed the second free throw, but Chatman got the rebound, batting it over to the sideline, where forward Tremayne Anchrum made a diving save to keep the ball inbounds. Anchrum knocked it to Cooper, who passed to Miner under the basket. Miner missed the layup, but Sanders tipped it in.

The Trojans gave up two fouls, resetting the shot clock each time for Arizona, which ran it down to 14 seconds before Cooper fouled Othick.

“We’re the unluckiest team I’ve ever seen,” Othick said.

And USC might be the luckiest.

Trojan Notes

USC Coach George Raveling held forward Lorenzo Orr out of the game because he missed practice Saturday morning. USC is 9-0 in games decided by five points or fewer this season, including three one-point victories. . . .Center Sean Rooks had 21 points to lead Arizona, which lost its last two regular-season games and has a 24-6 record, 13-5 in the Pac-10.

* A FOND FAREWELL?

Harold Miner, who says he will consider applying for the NBA draft after the season, savors what might have been his final college appearance at the Sports Arena. C4