Jan 23, 2004

Final Stats| Quotes

BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) - California point guard Richard Midgley had his best scoring night of the season, but it was Midgley's feistiness as much as his shooting that sparked the Bears past USC 63-62 on Thursday night.

Midgley scored 22 points and dished out a career-best five assists. He also scuffled with USC's Errick Craven late in the second half of the Pac-10 game, after Craven kicked him as they battled for a loose ball.

"We all got juiced after that," said Midgley's teammate, Leon Powe, who had 14 points and a team-high eight rebounds. "We were like, 'Richard doesn't fight.' We got juiced."

The fight between Midgley and Craven came with 4:28 minutes remaining and the Bears holding a 55-52 edge.

But USC had taken the lead with 36 seconds left when Derrick Craven scored off an inbound pass. That gave the Trojans their first lead of the second half at 62-61.

California's Ayinde Ubaka later sank two free throws to give the victory to the Bears (7-8, 3-3).

It was California's 11th win in its last 12 home games against USC.

Desmon Farmer led USC (8-8, 3-4) with 17 points, while Jeff McMillan scored 12 points and added a game-high 11 rebounds. California used a quartet of defenders against Farmer, the Pac-10's third-leading scorer heading into the game.

Midgley, whose career-high of 23 points came last season against USC, tied a career-high with seven rebounds.