USC Just Can’t Give This One Away

USC would have liked to have done it differently Thursday night, to have come out hungry and seize the must-win game against Oregon at the Sports Arena.

But after sneaking past the Ducks, 72-69, the Trojans quickly acknowledged that when an NCAA tournament bid is on the line, style is not of the highest priority.

“You win any way you can,� Coach Henry Bibby said.

Said Jaha Wilson, who scored 17 points and had 11 rebounds, leading to a 58-37 edge on the boards: “We should have beat them by more, but I feel lucky just to have gotten the win.�

This game, like every one the rest of the season, will be judged on how it affects USC’s chances of making the 64-team NCAA tournament. Thursday’s verdict: It helped.

The Trojans (15-9, 10-5) have three games left (Oregon State on Saturday, at Washington State and Washington next week) and a desperate goal of reaching the 17 victories most on the team believe will earn a bid.

“We had to have this one,� said center David Crouse, who had 16 points, one of four Trojans in double figures. “You can’t lose at home down the stretch when you are a bubble team.�

At times USC played very much like that bubble team, repeatedly allowing Oregon (16-9, 7-9) back into the game.

When the Trojans had their biggest advantage, 53-45, with 12:53 left, their offense vanished. USC missed six of its next seven shots, including two wide-open three-point looks by Ken Sims, committed two turnovers and Oregon tied the score, 57-57, at 8:26.

And after the Trojans took a 65-60 lead, USC let Oregon sneak ahead, 66-65, with 2:13 to play on the last of six three-point shots by Jamal Lawrence, who scored a game-high 20. Oregon took a season-high 30 three-pointers, making 12.

But from there USC went five of six from the free throw line and got a huge basket inside from Wilson with 29 seconds left that pushed the lead to 70-67. USC turned the ball over with 12 seconds left and Rob Ramaker had a chance to tie it, but he missed a three-pointer and USC’s miscues were forgotten in the celebration.

“It was a team effort,� said Stais Boseman, who had 12 points on four-of-16 shooting. “Jaha came in and controlled the boards for us, got us some big buckets inside, and everybody stepped it up.�

Rodrick Rhodes, whose poor performances in the three games before Thursday drew much attention, did not start, a move Bibby said was “to ease him into it.�

“We have put a lot of pressure on Rod and I wanted him to back off a bit,� Bibby continued. “We wanted to win with the team. We told him he didn’t have to win the game.�

Rhodes entered the game with 13:15 left in the first half and immediately got on the board by making two free throws. He also, briefly, added some stability to a Trojan offense that turned the ball over 14 times in the half, resulting in 17 Oregon points.

He completed a three-point play at 10:56, the start of a 10-1 USC run that gave the Trojans their biggest lead of the half, 24-18. He added two more free throws, a layup, and a pair of pretty assists to Wilson near the the end of a half that ended 38-38.

Rhodes finished with 16 points, three assists and some confidence not seen in the last two weeks.

“I deserved this,� Rhodes said. “I worked really hard in practice, worked before and after practice, and it paid off.�

Said Boseman: “Rod came in and he took control of the game.�

Kenya Wilkins led Oregon with 15 points at the break on six-of-11 shooting. But he scored only two points in the second half.