Hot Shooting Plus Defense Add Up to Trojan Victory : College basketball: Chatman scores 30 points and USC shuts down Petruska and Tarver in 72-62 win over UCLA.

There was nothing complicated about USC’s 72-62 victory over UCLA on Thursday night before 12,767 at Pauley Pavilion.

The Trojans simply had to win if they entertained any thoughts of playing in the postseason.

In seventh place in the Pacific 10 Conference, the Trojans (14-9, 7-7) were faced with a formidable challenge. But behind the outstanding play of Rodney Chatman, a 6-foot-3 senior guard, USC dismantled the Bruins with an array of outside shooting.

Chatman, who scored 37 points last week in an 86-83 overtime defeat at California, had 30 against the Bruins (18-8, 8-6).

USC made 53.2% (25 of 47) of its shots, compared to UCLA’s 37.9% (22 of 58). The Trojans made seven of 17 from three-point range, the Bruins eight of 23.

But equally important was the defensive job the Trojans did against Richard Petruska, UCLA’s 6-10 center, and guard Shon Tarver. The last time the teams met, Petruska scored 19 points, 17 in the first half, and Tarver had 26.

This time, Petruska scored only six points on three-of-seven shooting and Tarver had 13.

“The guy we did the best job on was Tarver,” USC Coach George Raveling said. “We were afraid of him the most.”

With four minutes left in the first half, Raveling sensed the Bruins could be defeated. He turned to an assistant and said: “If there ever is a night they can be beaten, this is it.”

He was right.

UCLA, which came into the game with a four-game winning streak, played listlessly, and, perhaps, unintelligently.

“We took 23 three-point shots,” UCLA Coach Jim Harrick said. “That’s not our style.”

Petruska, who looked outstanding in the team’s two victories in the Bay Area last weekend, was out of sync Thursday night. Instead of using his 280-pound frame to his advantage, he was ineffective in the middle.

Said Tremayne Anchrum, USC’s center: “This time, we fronted him. Whenever he had the ball, we fronted him and had help on the back.”

That is exactly what Raveling hoped would happen.

“We did it just the way Coach Raveling diagramed it,” Lorenzo Orr said.

Although USC played more aggressively in the first half, the Trojans were only ahead by 37-35.

Chatman, who made 10 of 13 shots, including two of three three-pointers, pressured the Bruins with his sharp shooting. As USC took over the game in the final six minutes, Chatman’s confidence grew.

Concurrently, UCLA’s frustration began to show.

“I saw them look at the bench a couple of times and say, ‘What are they in?’ ” Chatman said. “Coach Harrick was shrugging his shoulders. He didn’t know.”

In an effort to revitalize his team, Harrick called for a matchup zone that proved effective against Cal last Saturday.

It did not bother Chatman.

“(The zone) let us shoot ours threes and twos,” he said.

Said Anchrum: “When they went to the zone, they got lazy on us.”

Although the victory was motivating for USC, the Trojans have a long way to go to gain an NCAA tournament berth.

“To be honest, we’ve got to win the final four,” Raveling said.

UCLA was led by Tyus Edney, who scored 18 points and had six assists. Ed O’Bannon scored 17, 13 during the first half.

Frustrating matters was the Bruins’ inaccuracy. Kevin Dempsey, a freshman swingman who is dangerous from three-point range, missed all six of his three-point attempts.

And the Bruins had too little to counter USC’s guards. The Trojans took an eight-point lead early in the second half before UCLA rallied.

Tarver made a free throw to bring UCLA within one, 50-49, with 8:08 left.

Then the Bruins’ inertia set in.

With 5:53 left, the Trojans had built the lead to 59-49. From then on, UCLA looked exasperated and out of control while USC calmly held its lead to the end.

* OUTSIDE LOOKING IN

USC forces UCLA to shoot from the perimeter, and the Bruins can’t find the mark. C8