USC Fights Off Blahs This Time and Gets Rewarded

USC Coach Charlie Parker’s smile said it all.

“It feels good, it feels great,” said Parker, who gained his first victory as interim coach Tuesday night with a 69-61 victory over Northern Iowa. “It’s always great to get that first one, but more important is the way the guys played. I’m very, very proud of the fact that when adversity struck, they fought through it.”

After blowing early leads against two potential NCAA tournament teams in New Mexico State and Temple, the Trojans appeared to be trying to give away their third game against a struggling Northern Iowa team before 1,543 at the Sports Arena.

USC, however, outscored the Panthers, 24-10, over the final 5:26, getting clutch shooting from Burt Harris and important rebounds from Jaha Wilson.

Harris, a junior guard who finished with 12 points and four assists, made three key three-pointers down the stretch to help the Trojans erase a 51-45 deficit.

“Deep down, we were tired of losing,” said Harris, who scored all of his points in the second half. “In the other games, we had leads, but somehow we stopped playing together. Tonight, no one went in separate directions, we just pulled together.”

While Harris supplied the outside shooting, Wilson grabbed crucial offensive rebounds, something the Trojans lacked in their first two games.

Wilson, a sophomore forward, had a game-high 15 rebounds to go along with 15 points. Six of his rebounds were offensive, including a game-clinching grab that resulted in two free throws with 55 seconds remaining to give the Trojans a 63-57 lead.

“I can’t say enough about Jaha,” said Parker, who replaced retired George Raveling two days before the season. “Before the game, he promised me that he would get 15 points and 15 rebounds.”

Wilson, who came in averaging 9.5 rebounds, said the important thing was to get a victory.

Defeating Northern Iowa (1-3), which returned only five players from last season’s 16-13 team, is a far cry from creating a stir around the Pacific 10 Conference. For the Trojans, however, it is a start.

“It is always a concern when you’re losing,” Parker said. “We all know winning can be a habit, but unfortunately, so can losing. Sometimes, you start questioning your own attitude, but we responded well tonight.”

One player who did from the start was senior Lorenzo Orr, who had 13 first-half points en route to 15 points, four rebounds and three steals.

USC Notes

Junior guard Brandon Martin led USC with 17 points. Freshman Cameron Murray shook off a slow start to finish with six points, three assists and two steals. Northern Iowa was led by Jason Daisy with 19 points.