Trojans Hit the Bottom With a Thud : College basketball: USC plays poorly against weak Washington to fall into last-place tie in Pac-10. Losing streak reaches seven.

USC sank to a new level Saturday, one that did not look good.

Trying to stay out of a last-place tie in the Pacific 10 Conference with Washington, the Trojans were pushed around and knocked down by the Huskies in an 83-73 defeat before 4,631 at Edmundson Pavilion.

From missed dunks and layups to dropped passes and rebounds, the Trojans, 7-14 overall and 2-9 in the conference, did everything they could to keep their seven-game losing streak alive.

Washington, which lost to USC at the Sports Arena last month, established its physical dominance early when David Hawkin, a 6-foot-8 forward, was called for an offensive foul after crunching USC’s Burt Harris, a 5-10 point guard, with a blindside pick early in the game.

“That kind of set the tone of the game right away,” USC Coach Charlie Parker said. “That made our guys a little tentative. It took some steam from us right from the start. We’re really searching for some leadership. We just haven’t had anyone to step up and take charge out there on the court.”

Instead of responding in kind, USC played as it has throughout the losing streak by missing shots and allowing easy baskets.

Shooting 25%, USC made only eight shots in falling behind, 41-26, at halftime. As usual, the Trojan guards led the way by missing 12 of 15 shots combined.

Defensively, the Trojans were equally as bad as Washington shot 56% from the field with freshman Mark Sanford looking like an all-conference selection with 12 points, including three of four on three-point shots. Before Saturday, Sanford had made only nine three-pointers.

“They really came out and played above their heads,” said reserve Claude Green, who gave USC a lift with seven points and four rebounds in 11 minutes. “We wanted to keep pounding the ball inside, but our problem was that we kept missing our shots.”

The Trojans seemed inspired after halftime as they cut Washington’s lead to 43-36 four minutes into the half. But the Huskies answered with a 10-0 run over the next three minutes, thanks to some sloppy ballhandling by USC.

Washington stretched its lead to 62-49 before USC rallied again behind Stais Boseman, who scored all of his 18 points in the second half and finished with seven rebounds and five steals.

USC closed to 70-64 with three minutes remaining but was unable to get closer. The Huskies held on behind Bryant Boston, who had 27 points and point guard Jason Hamilton, who scored 10 of his 13 points in the second half.

“Every time that we would get it down within six points or so, we couldn’t get that extra push or extra effort,” Parker said. “That’s when on the court leadership should take over, but we just didn’t have that from anyone. We don’t have that take-charge guy who can get it done.”

The Trojans, who outrebounded Washington, 44-32, were led by Lorenzo Orr’s 20 points and 12 rebounds. The Huskies (6-13, 2-9) shot 53% from the field, the sixth consecutive team to shoot more than 50% against USC.

“We just have too many excuses to account for something like this (USC’s losing streak),” Harris said. “It’s really unexplainable. We need to look at ourselves. When we play together, we can beat anybody. We just can’t find the right chemistry.”