Arizona’s Stoudamire Can’t Hit, but Neither Can Trojans in Loss : College basketball: USC falls for third time in a row, 83-74. Reserve guard Rigdon steps up for Wildcats, scoring 21.

USC Coach George Raveling would have liked the Trojans’ chances of beating Arizona if he was told beforehand that they would limit the Wildcats’ Damon Stoudamire to four points.

The Trojans did exactly that and still lost for the third time in a row, 83-74, to No. 9 Arizona Saturday before 4,317 at the Forum.

How, after Stoudamire and Khalid Reeves combined to make only nine of 26 shots?

The answer is that the Trojans’ starting backcourt of Burt Harris and Stais Boseman combined to make only four of 20 shots for 11 points, and Arizona reserve guard Dylan Rigdon scored a game-high 21.

Stoudamire made only one of seven shots. But Rigdon tied a Pacific 10 Conference record by making all 12 of his free throws, and Reeves made three key three-pointers in the second half to help the Wildcats rebound from their loss to UCLA on Thursday night.

Arizona, 14-3 overall and 3-2 in the Pac-10, had to shake free from a determined USC team that had to play without starting guards Brandon Martin (stomach infection) and Harris, who missed the final six minutes because of severe dehydration.

Another area that hurt the Trojans (10-5, 3-3) was their free-throw shooting. They missed nine in the second half.

For the second consecutive game, USC played well in the first half only to fall apart later. In an 87-62 loss to Arizona State on Thursday, the Trojans blew a 10-point halftime lead.

Against Arizona, the Trojans were close, trailing, 36-33, at halftime.

“I was displeased coming out of the locker room (at halftime),” Arizona Coach Lute Olsen said. “We were jacking the ball up. But finally, we got some good looks at some three-pointers and hit them. And they came after we worked the ball around and began to play aggressively.”

USC dominated inside with Mark Boyd (18 points, six rebounds), Tremayne Anchrum (14 and 11) and Lorenzo Orr (14 and nine), but fell short in the backcourt.

USC guards scored only 22 points against the Wildcats, with freshman Claude Green scoring eight in the closing minutes.

“Our big guys have a lot more experience than our perimeter guys,” said Boseman, who made his third start of the season. “Coach (Raveling) wants us to pound the ball inside, which we do a good job of, but it hurts when we are not hitting our shots.”

USC outrebounded Arizona, 43-39, but made only four of 16 three-point shots. Raveling tried several different lineups, looking for offense, but came up short.

“Shooting isn’t our problem,” Raveling said. “The lack of production on the fast break is our Achilles. It puts a tremendous burden on our half-court offense.”

Trojan Notes

USC will play California at the Oakland Coliseum Arena on Thursday and at Stanford on Saturday. . . . USC will be glad to return to home games at the Sports Arena. Since March of 1990, USC has a 46-5 overall record at the Sports Arena and is 27-3 against Pac-10 opponents, including a 2-0 mark this season. The Trojans played at the Lyon Center on Thursday when they lost to Arizona State.