Ohio State Pushes Trojans Over the Line : College basketball: USC rallies from long range, but Skelton’s three-pointers carry Buckeyes to 73-56 victory.

USC gave Ohio State a big head start, and when the Trojans rallied, Jamie Skelton finished them off.

Skelton came off the bench to score a career-high 20 points, including two consecutive three-pointers that ended a USC rally late in the Buckeyes’ 73-56 victory Saturday.

“We dug ourselves a big hole in the first half,” USC Coach George Raveling said. “We were able to get it back to 12 (points) by setting little goals for ourselves and cutting the lead, but when (Skelton) hit those two three-pointers in a row, that was pretty much the end of the game.

“I was very impressed with him. He gave them great leadership on the floor. . . . A lot of guys start running and hiding from the ball, but he has an immense amount of talent.”

The Buckeyes (2-0), who scored the first seven points before USC’s Phil Glenn made a three-pointer with 15:58 to play in the first half, built a 46-19 halftime lead when the Trojans (1-1) made only 26% of their shots and committed 17 turnovers.

Ohio State increased the lead to 48-19, its biggest margin, on a basket by Tom Brandewie with 18:24 to play before USC came to life.

Glenn and Dwayne Hackett each connected on two three-pointers and Glenn made a free throw as the Trojans scored the next 13 points, cutting the deficit to 48-32 with 14:14 remaining.

The Buckeyes scored the next six points to regain control, but USC made a 16-6 run and cut the deficit to 60-48 with 5:57 left when Hackett finished the surge with a three-pointer and two free throws.

But Skelton answered with his three-pointers 13 seconds apart, before and after a USC turnover when Ohio State freshman guard Greg Simpson stole an inbounds pass.

“That took them out of the game,” Skelton said. “They were shooting those three-pointers and we were getting down on ourselves a little bit. But after those two threes, they were sort of out of the game.”

Added Ohio State Coach Randy Ayers: “Jamie’s fearless. But he came here out of high school that way. He’s not afraid to shoot the ball.”

That made it 66-48 with 5:32 to play, and the Trojans never threatened the rest of the way.

Lawrence Funderburke added 16 points and Alex Davis 11 for Ohio State. Glenn scored 16 points and Hackett 15 for USC, which made 10 of 28 three-pointers and committed 24 turnovers.

“It happens every year,” USC’s Mark Boyd said. “Last year it was Nebraska, the year before it was Maryland. Every year, one (loss to a major school on the road) is a stepping stone for us, and after that game we have to learn from our mistakes.”

Ohio State scored the first seven points and 23 of the first 31. USC did not reach double figures until Glenn’s three-pointer 7:36 into the game made it 23-11.

The Buckeyes made 28 of 53 shots (53%), including seven of 11 three-pointers.

“Southern Cal and Ohio State are both different teams than they were last year,” Ayers said. “We’re just concerned about getting better and being ready for the conference season.”

The game couldn’t match last year’s meeting at the Sports Arena, when Harold Miner’s basket in the final seconds of overtime gave USC a 79-77 victory over Jimmy Jackson and the Buckeyes.

Miner and Jackson moved on to the NBA as first-round draft choices.