Trojans Win Without Their Horses

USC Coach Henry Bibby suspended three starters, including his top two scorers, lost another starter to injury, and then threw the Trojans’ hopes Saturday against Ohio State to a group of mostly anonymous players.

And it worked.

Because the Buckeyes played that badly, and USC more like a team than it had in six previous games, the Trojans turned what could have been a miserable experience into a positive one, defeating Ohio State, 79-68, and shocking 3,497 at the Sports Arena.

Rodrick Rhodes, Stais Boseman and Gary Williams were suspended for the game for violating an unspecified team rule, which, according to a source, was a violation of curfew Thursday night while the team was in Atlanta. Because of bad weather, the team missed its flight to Los Angeles and had to stay in Atlanta after Wednesday’s loss at Tennessee.

“They violated a team rule. I’ll just keep it at that. The one-game suspension is over,” Bibby said. “What happened was for the betterment of the team.”

Said Rhodes: “We broke a team rule, we did something stupid.”

When asked if the violation involved the clubs near the hotel in Atlanta, Rhodes laughed and said: “I’ll just say we broke a team rule.”

The three suspended players, and guard Danny Walker, whose aching knee forced him to sit and will undergo an MRI on Monday, sat on the bench cheering a starting five that included three players making their first start of the season. One was Jaha Wilson, a starter last season; the others were Elias Ayuso and Anthony White, who scored more points Saturday than they have all season. Regular center David Crouse and sometimes starter Ken Sims rounded out the lineup.

But while sturdy play from Wilson, including 14 first-half points and the best game of the season from Crouse (15 points, eight rebounds) helped USC (5-2) hold its own inside and take a 42-34 halftime lead, it was the guard play of Ayuso and Sims that won the game.

USC’s lead looked fragile when White fouled out with more than 15 minutes remaining, and with his replacement, freshman Jarvis Turner, who played in his first game since suffering a stress fracture in his back before the season, limited with four fouls.

Ohio State (5-2) had cut the lead to two, 45-43, when White left and the Buckeyes looked primed to take over a game as many expected when the suspensions were announced. But after an exchange of baskets, Ayuso made a driving layup to push the lead to four. Wilson knocked down a short jumper, and Ayuso found Sims open on consecutive possessions for three-pointers to push the lead back to a comfortable 59-49.

“This is a big-time win for us,” Bibby said. “It’s the best we’ve played all year and the closest to a game plan we’ve played all year. It was exactly how we drew it up on the board and exactly what they went out and did.”

Sims, who tied Ayuso for the team high with 17 points, also made back-to-back three-pointers with nearly six minutes remaining, the last a fading shot from the left corner he really had no business trying.

“Ken Sims really hurt us,” Ohio State Coach Randy Ayers said. “He stepped up in the second half.

Said Sims: “I think [the suspensions] made us more focused. Against Tennessee we came out loose, we knew we were going to beat them. But we knew what people were thinking after hearing that [Rhodes, Boseman and Williams] weren’t going to play, and that made us stay focused and play hard for 40 minutes.”

Rhodes joked that after Saturday’s performance Bibby might keep him suspended, and Sims walked around the Trojan locker room carrying his 1-year-old daughter, Kennedy, telling everyone: “I had to play well, my baby was here.”

Bibby, meanwhile, was upset he had to reprimand seniors Rhodes and Boseman for the second time this season. Rhodes did not start at Tennessee because he missed a team bus back from Irvine last Sunday, and Boseman did not start against Irvine because he was late for a team meeting.

“I’m very frustrated with the suspensions,” Bibby said. “I think I am one of the most fair and honest coaches. I’m not here to be a control freak or to punish them. I’m here to help them reach their potential.

“I demand a lot and I expect a lot from them. It’s been a one-way street for a long time and I am not going to have that. I am very surprised that it is two seniors who had to be disciplined, and I am sending a message right now about what we are all about.”