From the Arc, USC Unleashes Deluge, 82-69

Rain had been forecast this weekend in Oregon, but not a drop fell. So USC decided to do a little raining of its own Saturday.

Before 6,099 at Gill Coliseum, USC shot threes like layups, setting a Pacific 10 Conference record with 20 three-point baskets to give them an 82-69 victory against the shellshocked Oregon State Beavers.

The Trojans bettered the old conference record of Washington State (18 against Seattle in 1990), but fell short of the NCAA record. Troy State had 28 threes (in 74 attempts) against George Mason in 1990.

USC had a much hotter hand than Troy State, making 20 of 29 from three-point range (65.2%). The Trojans made their first nine three-point shots, and made nine threes in their first 11 shots of the second half en route to a 31-12 run that gave them a 70-44 lead with 11:39 left to play.

“I wasn’t a big believer in the three-point shot, but I guess it made me a believer tonight,” USC Coach Henry Bibby said. “Guys were getting good looks and we didn’t force any shots. They were just going in.

“We had talked the day before about making two to three passes before we shot so we could get people open. Against Oregon [Thursday] we made one pass and kept trying to play a two-man game. We know we have guys who can shoot the basketball. Tonight, one of the keys was people getting open and making shots.”

Again and again and again.

With the win USC (13-6, 6-1) moved into a four-way tie for the Pacific-10 lead with Arizona, Stanford and Oregon.

The Beavers (10-8, 2-5) remain winless in five conference home games, their longest skid since dropping eight straight conference home games in 1996.

Even more galling for Oregon State, the three-point shot was supposed to be its weapon. Coming into the game only Stanford (335) had attempted more three-pointers than Oregon State (332), The Beavers had made 117 of them, also second in the conference.

But it was impossible to keep up with USC Saturday, Oregon State made 10 three-pointers in 24 attempts.

“I’ve [been coaching] 25 years and I’ve never seen a game like this,” Oregon State Coach Eddie Payne said. “We tried zones, man-to-man; we tried everything. But they hit them in transition, hit them on a pass. And when we had to stretch our defense, their quickness and penetration got them even better looks.”

Mindful the Beavers like a three-guard alignment, and deeply pleased by Nate Hair’s 13-point effort against Oregon, Bibby gave the freshman his first college start, over freshman center Kostas Charissis, on Saturday. Hair rewarded Bibby’s hunch with 14 points (including four three-pointers), five rebounds and seven assists in 39 minutes.

“We know Nate can shoot,” Bibby said. “You have to run some things for him to get him some open looks. And now, it makes us a little better because now we have another outside threat that can open up our inside game.”

Hair said he had been in some games like this before in high school. “You just have to shake your head and go, ‘OK, one of those days,” he said. “Hopefully we have a lot more of those than games where we can’t make them.”

He was not the only Trojan to break loose. Brandon Granville led USC with 21 points and added 11 assists for his seventh double-double this season.

David Bluthenthal made a career-high five three-point shots, had 17 points and a team-high six rebounds. Jeff Trepagnier, who has struggled from the field of late and missed four of his first five shots, also wound up with 17 points, on six-of-nine shooting. He made all three three-point shots he tried.

USC had to expect an early surge by Oregon State, which is desperately trying to stay in the race. The Beavers did come out firing and from distance, making four three-pointers in their first five shots to go ahead 14-8.

The Trojans stayed calm and rattled off nine consecutive points, taking their first lead on Granville’s three-pointer. A Bluthenthal three-pointer put USC ahead for the rest of the half, and Trojans would build their lead to 11 with 2:22 to play in the half, in hopes of delivering an early knockout blow to a Beaver offense that grew increasingly disjointed as the half wore on.

Oregon State scored the final four points of the half, however, and trailed only 39-32.