Trojans Perfect From the Start

The UC Santa Barbara Thunderdome is a cozy little gymnasium not far from the beach where basketball fans come to watch games and go slightly insane.

It’s the kind of place where the crowd sings and chants for its winless team and must constantly be reminded by the public address announcer to refrain from throwing anything, “including tortillas,” onto the court.

Amid such madness, the USC Trojans were forced to reach down deep for their second clutch performance of this young season to remain undefeated with a surprisingly tough 79-73 victory over Santa Barbara on Friday.

“That team we played tonight is better than their record,” USC Coach Henry Bibby said of the 0-6 Gauchos. “They came out and gave us everything we could handle.”

And in a game that began with a highlight reel worth of dunks from Trojan forward Jeff Trepagnier, it took nervy shooting from the backcourt of senior Elias Ayuso and freshman Brandon Granville to quiet the crowd of 4,653.

“Coach told me to just keep shooting the ball,” said Ayuso, who finished with 21 points. “He depends on me shooting the ball.”

Ayuso also represented a veteran presence for a team playing without junior Jarvis Turner who, along with junior college transfer Quincy Wilder, was suspended for a game after missing classes. Turner’s absence might have contributed to making this the Trojans’ closest victory since a three-point win at Nevada Las Vegas last month.

“Sure, you miss a guy like Jarvis,” Bibby said. “He gives us a lot of experience being in those situations before.”

But no one was missing Turner in the early going, not when Trepagnier began with a three-point shot from the left corner. That was the last time he scored with his feet anywhere near the ground.

Time and again, the sophomore forward sneaked free along the baseline and jumped high for dunks and tip-ins. He scored on a lob pass from Granville. He rebounded and dunked an Adam Spanich miss. When he made an impossible-looking reverse layup, the Trojans led, 36-21.

It wasn’t only offense that built the lead. USC (5-0) was playing effective pressure defense, forcing the Gauchos into turnovers and misses. But when the lead grew comfortable, Santa Barbara found a way back into the game.

The Gauchos double-teamed inside and dominated the rebounding, 48-38. As the Trojans began missing outside shots, Santa Barbara forward B.J. Bunton got hot.

Bunton showed why he is the team’s leading scorer, making two jump shots and four free throws to close the gap to 43-40 at halftime.

That was enough to get the Thunderdome crowd in fine form. They stomped their feet and sang as Bunton, who had 22 points and 12 rebounds, opened the second half with an alley-oop dunk and another jump shot to give Santa Barbara a one-point lead.

“We knew we had a fight,” said Granville, who had a career-high 22 points and eight assists. “They had a lot of people here and they were playing off that emotion.”

The game stayed tight, Santa Barbara refusing to play like a winless team until six minutes remained. At that point, Trepagnier finished his 19-point game with another monstrous alley-oop, reaching high and behind his head for Granville’s pass.

USC went on a 6-0 run and never let the Gauchos pull even again. The final seconds were marked by Granville and Ayuso making three-point shots and free throws.

For Ayuso, who has struggled from the field, it was especially sweet to leave the Thunderdome crowd in silence.

“Down the stretch, I knocked shots down,” Ayuso said. “That gives you some confidence.”