Unselfish Trojans Still Have Reason to Go On

They’re not dead yet.

Not after USC’s best performance of the Pacific 10 Conference season.

The last-place Trojans, still holding out hope of grabbing one of the eight spots for next month’s Pac-10 tournament at Staples Center, dominated California, 89-70, in front of 8,951 mostly silent fans Saturday at Haas Pavilion, completing a rare season sweep of the Golden Bears.

All it took was hot outside shooting from freshman point guard Gabe Pruitt in the first half, a dominant second-half performance in the post by senior power forward Jeff McMillan and stingy team defense throughout.

It also helped that the Trojans’ typical second-half collapse took the day off.

“They showed that they can execute for 40 minutes,” USC interim Coach Jim Saia said. “It was a total team effort, that’s how we have to play.”

USC had a season-high 26 assists, its most since getting 25 against Memphis in 1999. The Trojans’ first sweep of Cal since 2001 also marked their largest margin of victory on the road since defeating Stanford by 19 in 2002.

“We’re getting better,” Saia added, “and hopefully we have more time to get better.”

Meaning the Trojans, who have three games left -- at UCLA and at home against Oregon and Oregon State -- are able to extend their season by qualifying for the conference tournament.

USC improved to 11-15 overall, 4-11 in the Pac-10, and is 1 1/2 games behind Cal and Washington State, who are tied for seventh place. The Trojans were led by Pruitt’s 19 points and McMillan’s 19 points and 10 rebounds.

Cal (12-12, 5-9) was led by junior forward Rod Benson’s 13 points and 10 rebounds.

USC used a seven-man rotation with senior forward Nick Curtis and senior guard Derrick Craven relegated to the bench. Senior guard Errick Craven is still nursing a bone bruise in his right ankle.

And with junior point guard Dwayne Shackleford, who had a career-high seven assists, coming off the bench as a stabilizing influence, Pruitt continued the hot hand he exhibited in Thursday’s loss at Stanford.

Pruitt made his fifth three-point shot with 1:24 left in the first half to give the Trojans a 15-point advantage, 47-32.

“I was just feeling it in warmups,” he said. “I had a lot of shots in warmups ... that helps.”

The Trojans hit a lull in the opening minutes of the second half, when Cal crept within nine, 49-40.

Enter McMillan, who restored order and quelled the Cal threat.

With Cal shutting down Pruitt on the perimeter, McMillan dominated the paint, scoring 15 of the Trojans’ 19 points during one stretch.

“My teammates got me the ball,” said McMillan, who celebrated his 25th birthday the day before and had 15 points and six rebounds after halftime. “I just wanted to go up and finish stronger ... take it right through their chests.”

USC’s 27-10 run, which culminated with Shackleford’s three-pointer, gave the Trojans a game-high 26-point advantage, 76-50, with 8:36 left.

“Today we showed what we really can do and what we should have done before,” Pruitt said. “We fought hard the whole game and Cal gave up at the end.”

The victory was not the only positive gleaned, Saia said.

“They’re growing up,” he said. “That doesn’t mean they’re we’re all grown up, but we’re growing up.”