USC Needs a Range Finder

BERKELEY — Five days, five weeks, five months ... it won’t matter how much time USC has to prepare for its rematch with California in the Pacific 10 Conference men’s basketball tournament unless the script changes drastically from the way things played out Saturday night in Haas Pavilion.

The Golden Bears used their considerable height advantage to perfection, scoring easy baskets inside and keeping the Trojans from getting anything going inside the three-point arc.

USC tried a season-high 35 three-pointers and made only eight during a 71-60 loss that exacerbated its late-season slide.

“I’ve never had a team take that many in my life,” said Trojan Coach Tim Floyd, whose team has lost six of eight games and may not even be a lock for the National Invitation Tournament.

The good news for the sixth-seeded Trojans is that they get a chance to reinvent themselves Thursday night in a Pac-10 tournament quarterfinal. The bad news is that they must do it against Cal, which locked up the No. 3 seeding and probably punched its NCAA tournament ticket by improving to 18-9, 12-6 in Pac-10 play.

“Anything can happen on Thursday,” Cal forward Leon Powe said. “We just have to make sure we come out there and play with the same intensity, even raise it a little bit. I know they’re going to raise their intensity level too.”

All the intensity in the world might not make a difference against a front line that includes the 6-foot-8 Powe, 6-11 DeVon Hardin and 6-10 Rod Benson. Powe finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds, and Hardin had 10 points and 11 rebounds.

The big men helped the Bears amass 32 points in the paint, but their best work might have come on the defensive end, where they limited the Trojans to 29.5% shooting and only 12 points in the paint.

“Their length bothers us inside, and we just ended up on the outside,” Floyd said. “When you do, you’re going to have nights like that where you shoot poorly.”

Saying the Trojans (17-12, 8-10) shot poorly would be an understatement. Sophomore swingman Nick Young missed his five three-point shots, sophomore guard Gabe Pruitt made two of 10 and junior guard Lodrick Stewart made two of eight.

Collectively, USC tried the most three-pointers in Haas Pavilion since the shot was instituted during the 1986-87 season and made only 22.9%.

“I thought all our shots we took were pretty good, we just weren’t knocking them down,” said Pruitt, who cited an inability to get his feet squared. “I don’t think there will be another night for us to have another shooting game like that.”

After leading by one point at halftime, Cal broke the game open early in the second half on a 14-2 run that featured dunks by Powe and Hardin and a three-pointer by guard Ayinde Ubaka, who finished with 17 points. The Bears shot 63.6% in the second half and out-rebounded the Trojans, 38-30, for the game.

“That’s a great team we’re going to match up with on Thursday,” said Stewart, who had a team-high 16 points. “Hopefully, when we come out Thursday, we knock down a few more shots.”

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Trojan signee Kevin Galloway was suspended for Sacramento High’s Sac-Joaquin Section Division III championship game Friday for violating unspecified school rules. Without its leading scorer, the Dragons lost to Stockton St. Mary’s, 44-38.

It was not the first disciplinary action taken against the 6-6 senior forward.

According to the Sacramento Bee, Galloway was benched for the first quarter of the Dragons’ 72-43 semifinal victory over Foothill on Wednesday for being late to class and he was benched last year during a state tournament game after lying about turning in class assignments.

Galloway is expected to return this week when Sacramento opens play in the Northern California regional tournament.

Floyd declined to comment “because I haven’t talked to him or anybody else.”