Duke Wins in a Classic Style

The first week of USC’s basketball season is over. And the Trojans got two views of what life at the top can be like.

During the first game of Saturday’s sixth John Wooden Classic at the Arrowhead Pond, the Trojans saw defending Pacific 10 Conference champion Stanford knock off second-ranked Auburn. And in their game, the Trojans got a look at Duke, the closest thing to college basketball royalty in the 1990s.

Neither view was particularly close.

This group of Blue Devils is not at the same level as the powerhouse teams that won two national championships and appeared in five Final Fours this decade. But it was more than USC could handle, winning 81-68 before 11,847.

Duke used a game-high 24 points from senior forward Chris Carrawell and the defensive prowess of senior forward Shane Battier--who dominated USC center Brian Scalabrine in the second half--to win its third game in a row and improve to 3-2.

USC (2-3) seemed sharp early in taking a 20-17 lead at the 10:29 mark of the first half. But Duke passed the Trojans with a 13-4 spurt and made USC play catch-up the rest of the game.

In doing so, the Trojans victimized themselves by turning the ball over 17 times. They shot respectfully from the field (45.5%) but made only 13 of 33 second-half shots. And they were icy from the free-throw line, making only five of 12.

“I liked our effort,” USC Coach Henry Bibby said. “If we minimized our mistakes, we can be in the game.

“But Duke has that mystique. They also outplayed us in certain situations and also played harder than us in other situations.”

Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski also lauded his team’s effort, although he seemed more relieved than buoyed by the outcome.

“Southern Cal came at us with high energy, and was beating us down the court early,” Krzyzewski said. “They are a difficult team because they play [a style] we don’t really see. Their big men don’t play in the low post, their wing players do.”

But once the Blue Devils figured it out, they stalled the Trojan attack like an ocean liner run aground.

Scalabrine was a case in point. He started hot, scoring 11 points in the first nine minutes. Then Battier took Scalabrine out of circulation, denying him the ball and denying him his favorite shooting spots.

Scalabrine scored only two more points in the first half. And he did not score again until there were 69 seconds left and the issue was long decided.

Sophomore forward Sam Clancy led USC in scoring with 19 points.

“After that first 11 points he decided enough was enough and shut me down,” Scalabrine said of Battier.

Battier said it was harder than it looked.

“He’s a good player,” Battier said. “And he’s kind of unorthodox for a big man. The first half he made me react to him. In the second half I tried to make him react to me.

“Defense starts before [the offensive player] catches the ball. If I let him catch the ball where he wants to, then he has the advantage.”

The Blue Devils also got help from their bench. Nate James came into the game midway through the first half, scored 10 points and finished with 14. He also showed Duke the best way to attack the Trojan defense was to beat if off the dribble and drive to the basket.

“When he made his first couple of shots like that it got contagious,” Carrawell said.

Mike Dunleavy, son of the Portland Trail Blazer coach, also hurt the Trojans. The 6-7 freshman scored 13 points and made three three-point shots in four attempts. Two came back-to-back after Trojan guard Jeff Trepagnier (15 points) threw down two dunks that had the USC faithful roaring on their feet and cut Duke’s lead to 65-57 with 7:49 to play.

The quick six increased the Blue Devils’ lead to 14 points.

“Trepagnier is as good an athlete as we’ve played against,” Krzyzewski said. “Southern California was back in the game, playing with heart. Those two shots by Mike broke the game open.”

Up Next for USC

* Wednesday vs. UC Santa Barbara, 7 p.m. at Sports Arena--The Trojans are 8-0 lifetime against the Gauchos, who have started 0-2. Before facing USC, UC Santa Barbara plays today against San Francisco.