Freshmen Give USC the Edge

Freshmen can make coaches question why they ever gave them a chance. They can also make coaches wonder how they ever got along without them.

USC Coach Tim Floyd found himself thankful for the presence of Ryan Francis and RouSean Cromwell on Saturday afternoon at Sullivan Arena after the freshmen keyed a late surge during the Trojans’ 57-56 victory over Alaska Anchorage in the Great Alaska Shootout.

Francis stole the ball, drew a foul and made a free throw to pull the Trojans to within a point of the NCAA Division II Seawolves with 13 seconds left. He missed the second attempt, but Cromwell bulled his way into the lane and tipped in the ball with 10 seconds left for the winning basket.

“As we got to the line, all that was on my mind was, ‘Get this guy underneath the rim, get the ball by any means necessary and put it back in the hole,’ ” Cromwell said.

Given one final chance, Alaska Anchorage set several screens for guard Kemmy Burgess, who scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half.

Burgess found a seam, but his 12-footer in the lane bounced off the side of the rim and USC guard Lodrick Stewart secured the rebound as time expired.

USC (2-2) took fourth place in the tournament with its second consecutive victory, which seemed like a longshot after Alaska Anchorage (5-3) took a 56-51 lead with 4:07 left and appeared poised to add the Trojans to the long list of Division I programs the Seawolves had toppled over the years in this event.

But Francis made one of two free throws and Stewart made a steal and drove the length of the court for a dunk to pull USC to within two points, 56-54, with 2:05 remaining.

Seawolf fans groaned as their team’s next couple of possessions ended in turnovers, with Burgess traveling and Luke Cooper throwing a pass directly to Cromwell.

Francis drove into the lane and missed a one-handed runner with about 20 seconds left, but the 5-foot-11, 180-pound guard redeemed himself with his late steal and free throw that set up Cromwell’s heroics.

“Our little guard, Francis, didn’t make a basket, but he played well,” Floyd said. “He had a good game without making a shot.”

The 6-10, 215-pound Cromwell finished with six points and six rebounds in his second consecutive start. Gabe Pruitt scored 17 points and Nick Young and Stewart added 12 apiece for the Trojans, who also benefited from a combined eight assists and no turnovers from Francis and Dwayne Shackleford.