Trojans Stumble, Bumble Against Cal : College basketball: Fowlkes (16 points) and Gardner (13 assists) excel in their homecoming, a 76-58 rout of USC.

Too big. Too strong. Too good.

That was the story for overmatched USC in its 76-58 Pacific 10 loss to California on Thursday night before 3,527 at the Sports Arena.

The Bears overwhelmed USC (7-10, 2-5) in almost every phase of the game, especially shooting by making 50% of their shots from the field compared to the Trojans’ 31.1%.

The Bears (10-5, 2-4) were led by senior Monty Buckley’s 22 points and nine rebounds, including 18 points in the second half. Freshmen Tremaine Fowlkes (16 points and eight rebounds) and Jelani Gardner (career-best 13 assists) were impressive in their Los Angeles homecoming.

“This was very key for us since we’re a borderline team in the conference,” said Fowlkes, a former standout at Crenshaw High. “We knew that we had to come in here and play well, and not be distracted because we’re playing in front of family and friends.”

Even if Fowlkes and Gardner, who played last season at St. John Bosco High, were distracted along with the rest of their teammates, USC would have still had problems.

In their most lackluster effort of the season, the Trojans hardly did anything right. When not dropping passes or rebounds, they were missing layups and dunks. In the first half alone, USC had 12 turnovers and made only nine of 31 shots from the field.

“It was an easy case of ‘If you can’t put the ball in the hole, you can’t win,’ ” USC Coach Charlie Parker said. “You can’t shoot 29% in a half. It’s like going on a long road trip and following a road map. If there are detours, you’ve got to make adjustments. I don’t know how many layups and jump shots we missed. It’s tough to win if you can’t score.”

When the teams took the floor, it was easy to see which lineup had the size advantage. With four starters as tall as or taller than USC’s tallest (Lorenzo Orr at 6 feet 7), the Bears had a clear edge in height.

It was a factor Cal exploited early in taking a 22-9 lead, thanks to two easy inside baskets by Fowlkes and two open jump shots by reserve Randy Duck.

USC’s best stretch came during a nine-minute run from the end of the first half to the beginning of the second as the Trojans outscored Cal, 18-6. The key players for USC through the spurt were Cameron Murray and Stais Boseman, who combined to finish with 21 points and five steals.

With a 33-31 lead one minute into the second half, Cal ended any Trojan hopes of a comeback with a 15-3 run, highlighted by Buckley’s three three-pointers and 13 points.

The best example of USC’s inept play came early in the second half when the Trojans’ Burt Harris made a steal and passed to a wide-open Murray. Murray nearly lost the ball before making a saving baseline pass to Boseman, who missed a half layup/dunk. On Cal’s next possession Buckley calmly sank a three-pointer for a five-point turnaround.

USC’s backcourt continues to struggle as the Trojan guards combined to make only nine of 38 shots, with Brandon Martin and Harris each going 0 for 5 from the field.

“Our last three games, our guards haven’t done anything offensively,” said Parker of his backcourt’s 24-of-97 shooting in that span.

After winning its first seven games and then losing four of its first five conference games, Cal has now won two in a row-including Monday’s victory over CS Northridge.

“It feels good to get back on the winning track,” said Cal Coach Todd Bozeman, who did not have any incidents after being ejected for taking a punch at a security guard Monday at Cal State Northridge. “Our freshmen are learning and growing with every game.”