Seniors End on the Bench

David Bluthenthal was the first to go.

Than came Brandon Granville.

And when Sam Clancy fouled out with 1.7 seconds remaining in USC’s 93-89 overtime loss to North Carolina Wilmington Thursday night, it made for a cruel twist in the way the three senior starters ended their collegiate careers.

Coach Henry Bibby had called them the cornerstones of USC’s basketball renaissance.

I’m just thinking about my first college practice,” a red-eyed Bluthenthal whispered in the Trojan locker room after the loss, “and how quickly it all went.”

Granville, a four-year starter, wasn’t surprised that they had all fouled out.

“Not with the way we play,” Granville said. “All of us sitting there, that’s what happens when you play as aggressive as we do.”

Clancy, meanwhile, was more worried about “letting our USC fans down” than reflecting on his career at USC.

“It hasn’t hit me yet,” Clancy said.

The three have left a mark on USC’s record book, though, as they all rank in the school’s top 12 in career scoring.

Clancy is third in scoring (1,657), first in blocks (195) second in rebounding (835) and fifth in steals (134).

Bluthenthal is 12th in scoring (1,313), third in three-pointers (171), sixth in steals (116) and 10th in rebounding (755).

Granville is ninth in scoring (1,430), and first in games (124), minutes (4,043), assists (779), three-pointers (218) and steals (229).

Clancy ices his legs the night before home games and thought of doing it Wednesday night. But after USC’s light practice Wednesday afternoon, he nixed the idea.

“There came a point during halftime when I just felt them [tire],” Clancy said of his legs. “Now, they’re just exhausted.”

Clancy missed a couple of layups and put-backs at the start of overtime that he normally would have dunked, had he been on fresher legs.

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It was USC’s sixth first-round tournament exit and first since 1997, when the Trojans lost to Illinois 90-77.