Floyd Wants to Get a Move-On

Less than 24 hours after his team lost a game on a disputed call and he was involved in an altercation with a security guard while trying to confront an official, USC Coach Tim Floyd said he had “moved on.”

“We’ve got Cal Berkeley [today], and that’s where we are,” Floyd said Friday morning in the lobby of the team hotel. “We have moved on.”

Asked whether he intended to address security concerns with Pacific 10 Conference officials in the wake of a postgame altercation involving a team manager, players and security personnel, Floyd reiterated that he was focused on playing California today in the Trojans’ regular-season finale.

“I didn’t see an altercation,” Floyd said. “I didn’t see one [Thursday] night.”

Dave Hirsch, an assistant Pac-10 commissioner, said the conference would investigate security concerns if asked to do so by coaches or conference officials. As of midday Friday, Hirsch said, he had not received any complaints.

The incident occurred after a call involving Stanford guard Chris Hernandez and Trojan guard Gabe Pruitt in the final seconds Thursday night.

Pruitt was called for a blocking foul on a play in which Hernandez appeared to slip while driving toward the basket.

Hernandez, the best free-throw shooter in the Pac-10, was awarded two free throws with four seconds left and made both to give Stanford a 58-56 victory.

Nearly a day later, Pruitt said he still didn’t see how he could have been considered the offending party.

“I thought he slipped and kind of knocked me off balance,” said Pruitt, who twisted his ankle on the play but is expected to play today. “The whistle was late, so I thought they would call it out of bounds or something or a charge. I didn’t make any contact with him; I thought he initiated contact.”

There was more contact after the game.

Floyd appeared to follow official Deron White off the floor before a security guard intervened. Players, security personnel and Trojan team manager Rob Brooks then engaged in a heated exchange near the team bench that included pushing and shoving.

Floyd bristled when asked how his team would respond to such a big event.

“The big event was the game, was Stanford and a loss in the last 10 seconds of the game,” Floyd said. “That was the big event. If you want to make something else a big event, that’s your choice. We played a game, we lost a game [and] we’re now moving on to Cal Berkeley. That’s where it is.”

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Floyd pinned his team’s loss to the Cardinal on two fouls in the final 35 seconds, though both were disputed. Sophomore swingman Nick Young said he thought he had tied up Stanford forward Matt Haryasz while fighting for a loose ball but was called for a foul, sending Haryasz to the line with 35 seconds remaining.

Shortly thereafter, Pruitt was whistled for his foul on Hernandez.

“Part of defense is not fouling late, and we fouled twice late,” Floyd said. “You can’t do that.”

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The Trojans may not be a lock to qualify for the National Invitation Tournament, according to at least two projections. ESPN.com’s Joe Lunardi lists USC as one of the final seven teams to qualify for the 40-team tournament. Another site lists the Trojans as a bubble team on the outside looking in.

USC’s official NCAA Ratings Percentage Index figure slipped from No. 98 to No. 109 this week, though the Trojans boast quality victories over North Carolina, UCLA and Arizona. USC is hoping to receive its first postseason invitation in four years.

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TODAY

at California, 5 p.m.

Site -- Haas Pavilion, Berkeley.

Radio -- 1540.

Records -- USC 17-11 overall, 8-9 Pac-10; Cal 17-9, 11-6.

Update -- Floyd called Cal’s front line of 6-foot-8 Leon Powe, 6-11 DeVon Hardin and 6-10 Rod Benson the best in the country, besides LSU’s. The Bears outrebounded the Trojans, 42-32, in a 62-58 victory Dec. 29 at Staples Center.