Trojans Wind Up Stranded on Beach Against the 49ers

USC became a .500 basketball team after a 76-66 loss to Long Beach State on Thursday night at the Pyramid.

Two easy wins had given USC some rhythm. But there are still items on the season checklist that the Trojans (5-5) have yet to scratch off.

“We need to beat a Pac-10 caliber school,” USC center Brian Scalabrine said before the game. “If we can do that we’ll feel like we’re getting where we want to be. And Long Beach has Pac-10 caliber players. There are guys on that team that can really play.

“It’s good this is going to be a road game. In my opinion we still haven’t won a road game in a real hostile environment. We need to get out there with the crowd against us and cool everything out.”

Long Beach State (4-3) turned out be the kind of road opponent Scalabrine had in mind. The Pyramid was not filled to capacity, but the crowd was raucous. The 49ers had been embarrassed last year at the Sports Arena, 74-48, and were in no mood to come off as a college version of the Clippers before a national television audience--at least those who could stay up with a 9:05 tip-off.

Which is why USC, despite rolling up a couple of nine-point leads early, was only able to pull out a 39-37 lead after the first half Thursday. And the Trojans had to be further surprised by trailing, 55-53, with 11 minutes to play.

Scalabrine didn’t help much, as he fouled out.

The 49ers, a preseason favorite to win the Big West Conference this season, shook up their starting lineup for USC. Coach Wayne Morgan, seeking better ballhandling after the 49ers nearly blew a 19-point second half lead in beating Air Force nine days ago, gave junior Keith Felton his first start in place of sophomore Ron Johnson.

That plan fell apart went Felton had two turnovers in the 49ers’ first three possessions, and he was replaced by Charles O’Neal.

David Bluthenthal knocked down his first couple of three-point attempts and he never cooled down in the first half, pouring in 17 points--one shy of his career high at USC. He would surpass his career mark early in the second half.

And Bluthenthal did more than shoot, pulling down six rebounds.

USC would need all those points, though, because no other Trojan had more than eight (Sam Clancy) and only five Trojans scored at all.

Although Long Beach made only 14 of 31 shots and had 12 first half turnovers, the 49ers stayed in the game by outrebounding USC, 19-16, and collecting five steals. The 49ers also never lost their focus or effort, because they knew an upset was certainly within reach.

The Trojans started out quickly, building an 18-11 lead by the 12:17 mark. USC was mixing defenses and using occasional full-court pressure to keep Long Beach State out of sync offensively.

Six minutes later the Trojans had built up the lead to 34-25 and appeared ready to assume control. But then the 49ers starting running more.