Bruins Have Four Legs Up on Trojans : USC: Tremayne Anchrum and Phil Glenn suffer cramps down the stretch and UCLA pulls away, 90-80.

USC was not about to make excuses for its 90-80 loss to UCLA on Thursday night at the Sports Arena. That would be too easy when both teams played intense basketball.

USC Coach George Raveling said he appreciated the effort.

“(They) struggled and sweat, and did all they could to make their teams win,” he said.

But as hard as he tried, Tremayne Anchrum, a 6-foot-5 sophomore forward, could feel nothing but disappointment after the Pacific 10 Conference loss.

“I feel I let them down,” Anchrum said of his teammates.

Anchrum, who had 10 points and eight rebounds in 27 minutes, actually did not let the Trojans down.

His legs did.

So did senior guard Phil Glenn’s.

In an unusual situation, Anchrum and Glenn suffered from leg cramps that kept them from peak performances.

Glenn scored 19 points in 32 minutes, including six three-point baskets.

But neither he nor Anchrum were a factor when they were most needed. Anchrum missed the final 4:02 and Glenn sat on the bench for nearly six minutes, not returning until there were 55 seconds to play, by which time USC had all but lost to the Bruins at the Sports Arena for the first time in five games.

Neither player had an explanation for the cramps. And Raveling was not about to offer one.

“I’m a coach, not a doctor,” he said.

Cramping is often caused by dehydration or improper stretching before competition. But both players said they prepared as usual.

So, a minor ailment became a major frustration for both.

“I felt as if I had been in the game it might have made a difference,” said Anchrum, who scored all of his points in the first half.

“I’ve never had cramps before like this in a game. I just don’t know why.”

Anchrum said he was frustrated because of his lack of mobility against the taller Bruins, that he felt helpless against 6-10 Richard Petruska and 6-9 Rodney Zimmerman inside.

Glenn also said he never experienced such cramps.

He thought perhaps it had something to do with his pregame preparation.

“Before the game, I did a lot of shooting,” he said. “I was on my legs a lot. I was hoping it would go away. It wouldn’t.”

Without Glenn’s shooting at the end, USC could not overcome a UCLA team that fought for every loose ball and rebound.

For Lorenzo Orr, the Trojans’ 6-7 sophomore forward from Detroit, the game was everything he had hoped for--except the end result.

“You watch USC-UCLA growing up,” he said. “All the great matchups. It was great.”

Orr did not think the injuries were much of a factor. “We played our hearts out,” he said.

If their legs held up, that might have made a difference.