Trojans Get Back on Track

They didn’t need to go to the videotape this time.

Four days after losing a disputed game at Rhode Island when replays showed USC junior Desmon Farmer still holding the ball as time expired before he made a three-point shot, the Trojans took out their frustrations on outmanned Morris Brown on Saturday.

USC swamped the Wolverines early, limited them to 20 first-half points and rode the momentum to an ego-soothing 93-54 win in front of 3,252 at the Sports Arena.

And the Trojans did it without two starters -- sophomore shooting guard Errick Craven and sophomore center Rory O’Neil -- who were benched for the day by Coach Henry Bibby for violating an unspecified team rule.

“We knew that [the Wolverines] weren’t a top-program team and that we’d probably win,” said Farmer, who had a game-high 23 points with seven rebounds.

“But it allowed people to show that they can step up like Coach always talks about, whenever the opportunity comes up.”

Among those who took advantage of extra minutes were centers Kostas Charissis and Jonathan Oliver.

“Kostas stepped up and played like a 7-footer who weighs 260 pounds should play,” Bibby said. “And Jonathan Oliver, that was the best I’ve seen him play.”

Charissis, a senior who was slowed by a sore left ankle during preseason workouts, got the start in O’Neil’s absence and earned his first career double-double with a career-high 10 points and a career high-tying 10 rebounds in 22 minutes.

Oliver, a lithe 7-foot junior college transfer who has had a rough time making the transition to the more physical Division I game, came off the bench to get 19 points, on eight-for-nine shooting from the field, seven rebounds and two blocks in 24 minutes.

“I’m a lot more comfortable in there,” said Oliver, who was held out of the Rhode Island game by Bibby because of the physical nature of the contest.

“Coach told me to wait for the game to come to me. It’s going to take a little more time than I expected, but he wants me to be more aggressive out there, to be the guy no one likes on the court.”

USC (2-1) had six players score in double figures. Sophomore power forward Nick Curtis also got his first double-double (13 points, career-high 11 rebounds). Junior guard Roy Smiley, who took a nasty fall in the second half but walked off the court under his own power, finished with 12 points, and senior point guard Robert Hutchinson had 10 points.

Not that Bibby was satisfied.

“We need to work on certain things in our game,” he said. “We had holes in our press and we need to work on our free throws.”

USC converted 17 of 33 free-throw attempts.

“But it was good to see different people play different positions,” Bibby said.

Morris Brown (1-3), an independent team from Atlanta in its second season as a Division I program, was led by sophomore forward Akiem Claborn’s 11 points and nine rebounds.

The Wolverines, though, shot a woeful 29% from the field, 6.7% (one for 15) from three-point territory, and committed 24 turnovers.

Morris Brown’s woes helped the Trojans get their biggest margin of victory since beating Northwestern, 85-44, on Dec. 29, 1999.

“It wasn’t really a competitive game but especially after the Rhode Island loss, it feels good to get back on the ‘W’ side,” said Curtis, who also had career highs with three blocks and four steals. “Plus it gives us confidence. We’re a pretty confident team, but you could always use a little more confidence.”