Beating Arizona May Be Usc’s Best Victory Ever

Earlier this week, USC’s players and coaches couldn’t wait for the season to end. Now they wish it would last forever.

An utterly disappointing season has nearly been washed away, thanks to the Trojans’ 91-90 upset of No.2-ranked Arizona on Thursday night at the Sports Arena.

“We deserved it,” forward Jarvis Turner said. “We went out and played our hearts out. We had nothing to lose.”

USC (8-19, 4-13) became the darlings of tournament championship week with perhaps the biggest upset in school history. The Trojans defeated No.1-ranked UCLA in 1970, 87-86. But that USC team went 18-8.

“It’s probably the biggest win for USC in terms of beating a team of that stature,” Trojans coach Henry Bibby said Friday.

The season has been frustrating for Bibby, who has tried to blend a mixture of seniors and freshmen into a cohesive unit. With one game left, his ultimate vision finally became apparent against the Wildcats.

He got a tremendous game from senior guard Gary Johnson (27 points, five steals, five assists, six 3-pointers) but also received a solid 38 minutes from freshman guard Kevin Augustine (eight points, seven assists). And Turner, a sophomore, tied a career-high with 19 points and set a career mark with 11 rebounds.

“This is the game we’ve been waiting for,” Bibby said. “We’re young and trying to figure out who’s the team. I said all along if we execute, we’d be OK.”

Johnson has been a thorn in Arizona’s side all season. In the teams’ first meeting, he scored a career-high 30 points. In the rematch, he also hounded Wildcats point guard Mike Bibby into five turnovers.

“I’m always amazed with Gary Johnson,” Arizona coach Lute Olson said. “He just shook us off, pulled up and hit the 3s.”

Henry Bibby, Mike’s father, was most pleased about the subtle improvements the Trojans demonstrated in the victory. Friday, he emphasized a screen that freshman Jeff Trepagnier set that allowed Adam Spanich to get free for a wide-open 3-pointer at the buzzer that sent the game into overtime.

“The biggest part of that shot was Jeff Trepagnier,” Spanich said.

As for Spanich, he said he visualized hitting the game-winner all week.

“This is something I played in my head the last few nights,” Spanich said. “I thought it would come down to that. If you came to our practice this week, you’d think we were in the Final Four. Arizona knew they had a game on their hands the final 10 minutes.”