Jan 24, 2003

Final Stats| Quotes

BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) - Freshman guard Richard Midgley had a career-high 23 points as No. 25 California won its sixth straight, 73-68 over Southern California on Thursday night.

The Trojans (7-7, 3-3 Pac-10) contained California's big three of Pac-10 leading scorer Joe Shipp (13 points), Amit Tamir (12) and Brian Wethers (10), but they forgot about Midgley, who made a huge follow shot with 44.6 seconds left to give the Bears (13-2, 6-0) a 71-68 lead.

After a miss by Desmon Farmer, Shipp sealed it with two free throws helping Cal win its 14th straight at home. Errick Craven had 20 points and Rory O'Neil 19 for the Trojans, who have lost 9 of 11 against the Bears.

USC started the second half with an 11-2 run, during which O'Neil scored six, to start the second half to take a 45-42 lead. There were then 11 lead changes and three ties before Shipp scored a layup off an inbounds pass from Tamir, giving Cal the lead for good, 65-64, with 3:52 left.

With the Bears' best three players struggling, Midgley picked up the slack early, scoring 17 in the first half. His previous career high was 16. The 6-foot-1 freshman guard from Burgess Hill, England made 6 of 9 shots, including 4-for-6 on 3-pointers. He led a 16-5 run midway through the first half, wiping out a 20-13 deficit.

USC made a concerted effort to slow down Tamir, Shipp and Wethers, who average just under 70 percent of Cal's points on the season. The trio's 35 was well below its season average of 52.5.

The Bears increased the lead to 40-34 by halftime, overcoming 13 turnovers by hitting 54 percent of its shots (15 of 28).