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LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- The third time was the charm for Southern California. Brandon Granville collected 17 points and 10 assists as the 20th-ranked Trojans avenged a pair of losses to No. 9 Oregon with an 89-78 victory in a Pac-10 Conference tournament semifinal. USC (22-8) advanced to Saturday's title contest, where it will face Arizona. Oregon (21-9) defeated USC twice this season by rallying in the final minute of both contests. The Ducks led by as many as 11 points in the first half and were ahead 68-63 in the second half. The Trojans unleashed a devastating 20-3 run that was highlighted by huge slams by Sam Clancy and Jerry Dupree. Dupree added a layup for an 83-71 cushion with 3:43 left. A 3-pointer by Luke Ridnour had cut Oregon's deficit to 75-71 before Clancy and Dupree turned the game into a dunkfest. Clancy's jam came off a steal and feed by Granville and Desmon Farmer found Dupree for his rim-rocking dunk. Dupree received a rare start and responded with 12 points and six rebounds. "My job is to bring energy," Dupree said. "It feels great -- block shots, run the floor, get steals and add energy to the team." "I walked into the locker room and Jerry hadn't had an opportunity in a long time," USC coach Henry Bibby said. "I knew they were big and athletic and if I started Jerry, we would match up better with them." Frederick Jones scored 20 points despite playing with a touch of the flu and a wrist injury to lead Oregon, which won its first regular-season Pac-10 title. "I felt better and my wrist is fine," Jones said. "It's just a little sore." A typical fast-paced Pac-10 battle had Oregon taking a 48-45 lead into the locker room. A 3-pointer by James Davis gave the Ducks a 64-59 edge with with 14:24 remaining. But USC's pressure forced too many mistakes by Oregon down the stretch. The Ducks committed 18 turnovers, including eight by Ridnour. "We let the game get away from us a little bit," Ridnour said. "They just kept coming at us with that press. I know I had some turnovers and you can't do that against a team like USC." Clancy finished with 16 points despite picking up his fourth foul early in the second half. Farmer came up with 17 points off the bench and freshman Errick Craven added 14. Despite the complete effort, most of the attention centered around the high-flying Dupree. "I think that he picked up his game on another level in this tournament," Clancy gushed. "We knew he was capable of that all year, but it's tough in your first year coming to a conference like the Pac-10." Oregon had a five-game winning streak snapped although it placed all five starters in double figures. Ridnour scored 18 points and Luke Jackson added 16 for the Ducks, who shot 47 percent (27-of-58). "SC is a great team," Ducks coach Ernie Kent said. "We beat them twice and they got one now. I think it was a great opportunity for us to play here because it has done a lot of good in order to get us ready for next week." . |
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