Players Will Miss the Old Place

Disparage the Sports Arena if you must; just don’t let USC players hear you. They seem to love the place.

Sophomore guard Gabe Pruitt still cherishes the childhood photos of himself in the old building during a Clipper game against the Houston Rockets. Sophomore swingman Nick Young relishes the fact that Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson played there.

“I love playing at the Sports Arena,” junior guard Lodrick Stewart said. “I know it’s old and stuff like that, but that’s home court for me.”

Not for much longer. The Trojans play their last scheduled game there tonight against Oregon State before moving into the Galen Center next season.

“It was always exciting for me playing in a big arena, no matter if it was old or not,” Pruitt said.

What about the fact that the 16,161-seat arena was never filled during his two years there?

“You just have to look at it [as if] we’re a college team and you’re not going to sell out unless you’re a Duke or something,” Pruitt said.

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Young required 17 stitches on his buttocks Thursday afternoon after stumbling into a glass case protecting a fire extinguisher inside Heritage Hall.

“We were getting excited for the game and somebody bumped me and I fell into it,” Young said. “I didn’t know the glass was that close.”

Said USC Coach Tim Floyd: “They’re having fun in their own juvenile way.”

Young, who played 35 minutes and scored 14 points during USC’s 73-61 loss to Oregon, said the area only hurts when he sits or if he falls on it.

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Floyd said he was disappointed that several players acknowledged an inability to sustain the type of energy they had expended against UCLA against Oregon. “That’s immaturity, because it’s something that we addressed with three very difficult practices,” Floyd said.... Pruitt will have his injured left knee examined today and could resume practicing as soon as Monday. He took several shots from midcourt after practice Friday at the Sports Arena and appeared in a jovial mood.

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TONIGHT

vs. Oregon State, 6, FSN West 2

Site -- Sports Arena.

Radio -- 1540.

Records -- Oregon State 11-16 overall, 4-12 Pacific 10 Conference; USC 16-10, 7-8.

Update -- The Trojans might have difficulty matching up in the post with Oregon State, which has three starters 6 feet 8 or taller. The Beavers outrebounded the Trojans by 11 last month in Corvallis but committed 18 turnovers during a 72-70 overtime loss. Oregon State has lost eight of nine and has by far the worst turnover margin in the Pac-10, committing 4.88 more turnovers per game than its opponents.

Tickets -- (213) 740-4672.