Anchrum Answers the Trojans’ Need : College basketball: He emerges as a leader with 15 rebounds, 10 points in USC’s 74-64 victory over No. 17 Nebraska.

It was supposed to be a shootout Wednesday night at the Sports Arena. Unbeaten Nebraska had averaged 94 points in winning seven in a row, and USC had scored 98 in its previous victory.

The shooters failed to show up and the Trojans rode a tough defense to a 74-64 victory, their 13th in a row at home.

On the strength of their fast start, Nebraska, getting six of their seven victories at home, were ranked 17th.

There was nothing impressive about Coach Danny Nee’s team Wednesday. The Cornhuskers shot horribly and were badly outrebounded by the smaller Trojans. They also appeared to be confused by George Raveling’s pressing defense.

Raveling has been waiting for someone to step forward as a leader and Tremayne Anchrum, a sophomore from Denver, answered the call.

The husky 6-foot-5 forward, getting his first chance to start, took charge of the backboards and gave the Trojans scoring inside. Anchrum had his first double-double, with a personal-best 15 rebounds to go with 10 points.

It was a night when the Trojans’three-pointers were not falling. They made only nine of a school-record 33 attempts, so they needed rebounds in the worst way.

“Tremayne was unbelievable,” Raveling said. “He really came through in his first start. I told our guys that this game would be decided on the boards and on defense.

“I think our zone defense confused them. I know it confused our guys some of the time. At the half I told them that if we were confused, they probably were, too.

“This was a big win for our kids. They are out to prove they are a better team than we’ve shown so far. I think it left us in a good spot to improve on this upcoming trip. We still have a long way to go, but we’re making progress.”

The shooting on both sides was atrocious. Nebraska, which had been shooting almost 50% all season, made only 20 of 63 shots for 31.3%. At that, the Cornhuskers shot better than the Trojans, who were 20 for 64.

In the last 11 minutes of the first half, Nebraska had only two baskets and fell from an 11-9 lead to a 28-22 halftime deficit.

By this time, Nebraska was really confused. The Cornhuskers started putting up wild shots and hurried ones. In the first 20 minutes, they made only six of 26 shots. USC was only a little better, but it had nine more shots.

“I thought offensively, we had a lot of good shots, but they just weren’t dropping,” Raveling said. “For the most part, we took good shots. That’s why the rebounding and the hustling for the loose balls were so important.”

At home at least, the Trojans seem able to rise to the occasion against good teams. This was the seventh time in the last eight games against ranked teams that the Trojans have won.

Anchrum said that when he got the start he simply tried to do what would help the team most--rebound.

“After the loss to St. Louis, we had a couple of team meetings without the coaches and said we had to work harder,” he said.

They have a 4-2 record but must show they can win on the road.

Rodney Chatman, slowly getting into top form in a reserve role, led the Trojans with 16 points.

Nebraska’s Eric Piatkowski had 18 to lead all the scorers.

“Our inexperience caught up with us,” Nee said. “USC didn’t shoot to its ability. If it had, we would have lost by 30 or 40.”