USC Falls Short in Overtime : College basketball: Boline’s shot with :03 left wins for Beavers, 90-89.

If USC’s 90-89 overtime loss to Oregon State on Thursday night is an indication, don’t look for anything to go as planned in the Pacific 10 Conference this season.

After watching Brent Barry, who scored 30 points, and Stephane Brown, who added 23, carry the Beavers, USC was determined not to let either one take the big shots in the final 90 seconds of overtime.

So whom did Oregon State turned to? Jelani Boline, a sophomore guard who had missed all four of his shots during regulation.

Boline made the Trojans pay by banking in two desperation jumpers, including the game-winner with three seconds remaining as Oregon State won the Pac-10 opener before 6,023 at Gill Coliseum.

“We were just trying to run our offense at the end,” Oregon State Coach Jim Anderson said. “We didn’t predict who we wanted to take the shots. It was up to whoever had it to take them, and (Boline) was the guy. . . . We need a break every once in a while.”

Boline’s late heroics spoiled a fine effort by the Trojans, who rallied from an 11-point deficit in the final 4:30 of regulation to tie the score, thanks to key three-point shots by Burt Harris and Cameron Murray in the final minute.

In overtime, USC had its chance when it took an 89-88 lead on a fast-break layup by Murray with an assist from Harris with 20 seconds remaining.

“We didn’t want (Mustapha) Hoff, Brown or Barry to beat us,” USC Coach Charlie Parker said. “We did a good job on those guys, but unfortunately for us, their guy banked in the shot. In ‘horse,’ you have to call shots like that.”

USC can blame itself for even having the game that close after a four-minute stretch in the second half when Oregon State had a 17-1 run.

With a 52-48 lead midway through the half, USC’s offense went south while Oregon State took advantage of the Trojans’ foul problems, making 22 of 28 free throws after halftime.

“Our team goes through lapses like that once in a while,” said Harris, who finished with 13 points and five assists. “But, we showed character in that we fought through it to come back. It’s tough because we feel that we should have won, but it came down to whoever had the ball last.”

Senior Lorenzo Orr played his best game of the season so far for USC with 23 points and 15 rebounds, and sophomore Jaha Wilson added 18 points and 13 rebounds.

“They really could have folded when we went up by 10 and 11 points there in the second half, but they really fought hard,” Anderson said of the Trojans. “They were well coached and their press got them some points once they got behind.”

So why didn’t USC use its fullcourt zone trap earlier?

“We probably should have used the press more a little earlier,” said Parker, whose team dropped to 4-5 overall. “But we didn’t want Barry to get any outside shots, so we played a lot of man-to-man.”

Trojan Notes

USC outrebounded Oregon State, 43-32, but had 16 turnovers to the Beavers’ 11. . . . The Trojans had only eight scholarship players in uniform. Center Kirk Homenick, who will be sidelined until next week because of a knee injury, did not dress, and guard Claude Green did not make the trip because of disciplinary reasons. . . . Last season, USC defeated Oregon State, 69-68, on a last-second shot by Damiane Powell. . . . The Trojans will play at Oregon Saturday night.