USC Uses Defense on UNLV : College basketball: Trojans take a stand, grab rebounds for 82-72 victory.

USC sacrificed its running game for rebounding and defense against Nevada Las Vegas on Sunday and that proved to be the difference in the Trojans’ 82-72 victory before 2,877 at the Forum.

The Trojans (4-1) outlasted UNLV down the stretch behind Jaha Wilson’s 13 rebounds and Avondre Jones’ 12, as USC outrebounded the Rebels, 45-26. The Trojans also made several key defensive stands, including a rebound of a loose ball by Cameron Murray with 1:11 left. Murray’s play resulted in a technical foul on UNLV’s Warren Rosegreen that provided a five-point swing for USC.

“We know that we’re a good team, but the important thing is for us to get wins,” said Murray, who had 10 points and five assists. “We learned a lot from [last season’s 7-21 team] and now we’re starting to do the little things we need to do to win.”

USC also got a key defensive play from Brandon Martin, who drew an offensive charge on UNLV’s Chancellor Davis with 45.4 seconds remaining and USC ahead, 78-72.

“As a team, we had been trying to block shots too much,” USC Coach Charlie Parker said. “We told the team all week that we wanted them to start stepping up and taking charges. The block [by Martin] was very big because he is a guy who normally doesn’t make plays like that.”

Martin, who scored a game-high 19 points along with Stais Boseman, also led the Trojans’ resurgence at the free-throw line by making nine of 10 attempts--including six in a row in the final 1:11--as USC shot 73.7% from the line.

In its first game since losing Dec. 2 at Loyola Marymount, UNLV made four transition dunks in taking a 14-8 lead six minutes into the first half. Behind the three-point shooting of Martin, who had 13 first-half points, and Boseman, who had 11, USC rallied to tie the score, 40-40, at halftime.

Jones got USC off to a quick start in the second half with two rebound layups, as the Trojans took a 50-42 lead. UNLV, however, responded behind Rosegreen, who finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds, and Clayton Johnson, who scored 12 of his 17 points in the second half, to cut USC’s lead to 59-58 with 10:30 remaining.

UNLV freshman Ben Sanders kept the Rebels close with 14 points on seven-of-eight shooting, but USC got a lift from reserve center David Crouse.

With Jones limited to only nine points and 21 minutes because of foul trouble, Crouse responded with eight points in the second half and four offensive rebounds. He finished with nine points and six rebounds in 18 minutes.

“When Vonnie is not in there, I have to take over and make my presence felt in the middle,” said Crouse, a 6-foot-11 junior who has lost 35 pounds since last season. “I’m a totally different player than I was last season and I’m finally getting an opportunity to show the best part of my game, and that’s on the offensive end.”

The Rebels (1-2) hurt themselves in the final 90 seconds by missing the first shot of two one-and-one free-throw opportunities and committing two turnovers.

“Our team showed a lot of character and heart,” UNLV Coach Bill Bayno said. “We just got some bad breaks at the end of the game.”

Rosegreen was called for a technical foul for protesting the fact that a foul was not called on Wilson as the two players scrambled for the loose ball that Murray eventually controlled. Martin made the two ensuing free throws.

“Our concentration and execution was better,” Parker said. “We responded to every challenge [UNLV] put to us.”