USC’s Upset Bid Gets Fouled Up by Arizona

No last-second heroics. No three-point baskets at the buzzer.

Only jump shots that couldn’t find the basket and players who couldn’t stay out of foul trouble.

Only a USC basketball team that played its best first half of the season but was frustrated and finally beaten in the closing minutes, losing to No. 8 Arizona, 87-78, at the Sports Arena on Monday.

“It was our game to win,” USC guard Adam Spanich said. “It was a game we should have won.”

Less than a year ago, Spanich made a pair of three-point shots to upset Arizona at the Sports Arena. This time, any hopes for a repeat performance fell by the wayside as USC let a nine-point lead slip away.

The Trojans, 9-2 overall and 1-1 in the Pacific 10 Conference, fell to a young and talented Arizona team that was hungry for redemption after its first loss of the season at UCLA on Saturday.

They also fell victim to their own cold shooting, making only 26% from the field in the second half. The offense struggled as four starters--Brian Scalabrine, Sam Clancy, Jeff Trepagnier and Brandon Granville--played the final minutes with four fouls each.

“I thought I was in Tucson, Arizona, rather than Los Angeles,” Coach Henry Bibby said. “We lost a lot of momentum with the fouls being called.”

And the Wildcats (9-1, 1-1) took full advantage.

“If you guys noticed, we got the ball inside more,” Arizona Coach Lute Olson said. “I was pleased with our guys for doing that.”

The comeback put a damper on an uncharacteristically large crowd of 4,116 that showed up for a weekday afternoon game to see a USC team that has raced to one of its best starts in a decade, a team fighting for respect after last season’s 9-19 record. The Trojans broke their recent pattern of slow starts, showing more intensity than in any game since an early-season victory at Nevada Las Vegas.

“I knew we were really ready for Arizona,” said Clancy, a freshman forward who had most of his 16 points and 10 rebounds in the first half. “So I wasn’t surprised when we came out that way.”

It was Clancy, returning to the starting lineup, who made a jump hook that ignited an 11-0 run early in the game. Everyone got into the act, Scalabrine making a short jumper, Trepagnier successful on two free throws and Granville scoring from the baseline as the Trojans opened a 22-13 lead.

The margin held until halftime as forward Jarvis Turner’s basket at the buzzer--half desperation, half luck--made for a confident mood in the locker room.

“We knew they would make a run at us,” Spanich said. “We thought we’d be able to respond.”

But the second half began with Scalabrine and Trepagnier being called for charging on consecutive possessions. Soon, the Trojans sank into foul trouble. They weren’t as aggressive on offense or defense and Arizona went on a 7-1 run.

“It was one thing--intensity,” Olson said. “They played harder in the first half than we did. I don’t think that was true in the second half.”

Arizona center A.J. Bramlett pounded inside for 13 points and 10 rebounds. Forward Richard Jefferson had a game-high 24 points, including an alley-oop dunk that tied the score, 52-52, with 13:45 remaining.

Meanwhile, the Trojans went minutes at a time without scoring.

“I didn’t go inside because I didn’t want to pick up another foul,” said Scalabrine, who had eight points, less than half his average. “That was a mistake.”

With the Wildcats shooting 50% from the field, guards Jason Terry and Ruben Douglas drove the final nails into USC’s coffin. The backcourt pair, making a string of jumpers and fastbreak layups, accounted for 11 points that gave Arizona an 80-73 lead with 2:42 remaining.

From there, Granville and Clancy fouled out. Four different Trojans took turns trying and missing three-point shots.

It was a costly defeat for a team that has been picked to finish near the bottom of the conference, a team that, nonetheless, hopes to scratch and claw for enough victories to qualify for a postseason berth.

“In the second half, we didn’t come out with that same fire,” Clancy said. “We should have put them away.”