Feb. 3, 2000

Box Score

By JOHN NADEL
AP Sports Writer

LOS ANGELES - Sean Lampley's dunk with 2:10 remaining put California ahead to stay Thursday night as the Golden Bears continued their domination of Southern California by stunning the Trojans 66-62.

The Bears (12-8, 3-5 Pac-10) have beaten USC in 10 of the last 11 games between the schools including five straight, and this victory was especially damaging as it knocked the Trojans out of a first-place tie in the conference.

Lampley's dunk put the Bears ahead 61-59. The Trojans (13-7, 6-2) got within one point twice after that. Brandon Granville and Nate Hair missed 3-point shots in the final 17 seconds that could have put them ahead.

Hair's miss came as time was running out. Freshman Shantay Legans, who led the Bears with 12 points, made two free throws with 0.5 seconds left to complete the scoring.

The loss was just the second in 10 games for the Trojans, and their first at the Los Angeles Sports Arena this season after seven wins.

Baskets by Dennis Gates and Brian Wethers gave the Bears a 59-55 lead with 4:11 remaining, but Brian Scalabrine, who led USC with 25 points and nine rebounds, scored the next four points to make it 59-all.

Lampley, hampered by foul problems and held to a season-low eight points, then scored to put Cal on top for good.

The Trojans outscored the Bears 10-4 to start the second half for a 40-38 lead - their only lead of the game. Cal then went on a 12-3 run to go ahead 50-43 with 9:48 remaining.

However, the Trojans battled back, and Hair's 3-point shot with 5:30 left tied the game at 55.

Granville added 14 points and five assists for USC. Freshman Nick Vander Laan had 11 points and eight rebounds for Cal. The Bears' bench outscored their Trojan counterparts 20-0.

David Bluthenthal, USC's leading rebounder, had nine points and seven rebounds before fouling out with 6:26 remaining.

The Trojans, who made a conference record 20 shots from 3-point range in an 82-69 victory at Oregon State last weekend, had difficulty hitting from outside in the first half against the Bears, making just 1-of-10 3-pointers in the first half and 3-of-20 in the game.

"I was real proud of our composure at the end of the game," said Cal head coach Ben Braun. "We concentrated on defending USC on the perimeter, and I thought we did a good job of doing that by staying tough and fighting through screens. Now, we have to turn our focus on UCLA and put together back-to-back efforts."