Trojans Show They Can Mix It Up With Best

The USC Trojans pulled together everything they had, rolled it up into one smart-thinking, aggressive defensive package and pitched it at the No. 2-ranked Kansas Jayhawks and their two preseason All-Americans, Paul Pierce and Raef LaFrentz.

USC had ambush on its mind Tuesday. The Trojans mixed up their defenses, went to the bread-and-butter of their offense--their three-point shooting--and unlike any game prior, scored inside against one of the most-dominant front lines in college basketball.

But it was too little and maybe too soon for the inexperienced Trojans to pull off an upset as Kansas held off a late rally for a 74-69 victory at the Sports Arena before 5,036.

It was a game in which freshman Greg Lakey and Jeff Trepagnier showed glimpses of why they were so sought after out of high school and the type of challenge that allowed USC Coach Henry Bibby to show his knowledge of the game.

Bibby coached a masterful game, keeping the Jayhawks (14-1) off balance with a combination of defenses--throwing zones, match-up zones and a man-to-man at Kansas.

“We did the things we wanted to do on defense against Kansas,” Bibby said. “We kept LaFrentz and [Eric] Chenowith away from the basket, stopped their transition and kept them from getting too many easy baskets.”

In the first half, junior shooting guard Elias Ayuso kept the Trojans in the game with three three-point baskets and nine points. He had 19 for the game and finished five of 10 from behind the arc.

But the Trojans suffered yet another injury to one of their stars when Ayuso landed awkwardly on a layup attempt and left the game with 3:42 remaining because of a sprained ankle.

“I just landed wrong,” said Ayuso, who was fouled on the play by Kansas guard Ryan Robertson. “I got a good look tonight. I was open, got a rhythm and my teammates got me the ball in the right spots.”

Ayuso got open mostly because USC players were able to penetrate. Most of the time, they couldn’t do much more than kick the ball out to Ayuso or senior guard Gary Johnson, but that was enough for the Trojans (4-4) to stay close.

“We started reaching for the ball and when they were driving,” Kansas Coach Roy Williams said. “They outplayed us but we had more talent.”

Despite the loss, Bibby should be encouraged with the performance of Lakey, Trepagnier and freshman forward Shannon Swillis.

The trio ganged up on the Jayhawk front line, which included the 7-foot Chenowith, last year’s standout prep player from Villa Park High, and combined for 22 rebounds. But USC finished behind Kansas in rebounding, 43-33.

Lakey showed the most nerve, taking the ball right at the 6-11 LaFrentz and finishing with 10 points.

But after leading only 37-35 at halftime, the Jayhawks started getting the ball to LaFrentz and Chenowith.

The Jayhawks were led by Pierce and LaFrentz, each with 17 points, but Robertson and guard Billy Thomas answered the Trojans’ first-half barrage of three-point shots with their own. Each player finished with 11 points.

Trailing, 70-53, with five minutes left, USC got bold again and scored 11 consecutive points. Nick Bradford made a free throw and Adam Spanich a three-point shot to lift the Trojans within 71-67 with 24 seconds left.

But Thomas scored on a layup and freshman point guard Kevin Augustine, who sat out the last two games because of a sore rotator cuff, turned the ball over and time ran out.

“We just ran out of time,” said Augustine, who scored two points but was penetrating Kansas’ defense all night and had four assists.

“All we needed was just a little more time. A few more seconds and we would have won that game.”