Lorenzo’s Toil Sparks Trojans

USC sophomore forward Lorenzo Orr gave a glimpse of his ability to take over a game, dominating the second half as the Trojans scored an 81-65 Pacific 10 Conference victory over Washington State before 3,381 at the Sports Arena on Saturday.

After a poor first half, Orr became unstoppable, scoring 17 of his 21 points to keep the Trojans’ NCAA tournament hopes alive.

USC (16-9, 9-7) has two games remaining, at Arizona and Arizona State next week. With two more victories, USC Coach George Raveling said, the Trojans will make the NCAA tournament.

“It would be hard for them not to pick us if we win our last two games,” Raveling said. “No question, we are on the bubble, but we’ll have a five-game winning streak to finish the season.”

USC was led by senior guard Phil Glenn, who had a career-high 28 points, including six three-point baskets.

“We’ve now won three of the five games we needed to win,” said Glenn, who also had five rebounds and four assists. “We now have to go to Arizona and get a sweep to get into the (NCAA tournament).”

Any hopes for a tournament bid appeared bleak for USC until Orr made his presence felt in the second half.

With Washington State leading, 40-34, and 15:45 to play, Orr scored 15 of the Trojans’ next 21 points, as USC took a 55-49 lead.

The 6-foot-7 Orr demanded the ball inside during the stretch, which pleased Raveling.

“Sometimes, I forget how much an impact player he can be,” Raveling said. “At one point in the second half, we ran five plays in a row for Lorenzo. There’s no question that he took over the game.”

Orr, who made eight of 11 shots had six rebounds, had to step up offensively because forward Mark Boyd was in foul trouble for most of the game.

“Raveling told me at halftime that I had to work harder for the ball,” said Orr, who is averaging 10 points and six rebounds.

“And, when Boyd left, I felt like it was all on me to carry the offensive load in the second half.

“There are certain games when I feel really on fire, and when the guys see that, they feed me the ball.”

Washington State (14-12, 8-9) had problems with USC’s zone defense during the second half. Bennie Seltzer, who scored 32 points against UCLA on Thursday, had only 13--eight coming during the game’s final minutes after USC emptied its bench.

Washington State held a 33-30 first-half lead as guard Tony Harris scored 14 of his team-high 17 points. If not for key three-point baskets by freshman point guard Burt Harris, who finished with 11 points, six assists and one turnover, and Glenn, USC would have found itself in trouble going into the second half.

“We played awful well for 25 minutes, and then we missed so many easy shots,” Washington State Coach Kelvin Sampson said. “I’ve never seen us miss so many layups.”

Trojan Notes

In their final home game at USC, seniors Dwayne Hackett, Rodney Chatman, Tim Vanitvelt and Phil Glenn started for the Trojans. Vanitvelt, who played only 33 minutes all season, played six minutes, made a three-point basket and grabbed three rebounds in his only start of the season. USC finished with a 11-1 record at the Sports Arena and has won 39 of its last 43 games there since March of 1990.