USC
Bradley
USC Opens Season With Victory Over Bradley
November 18, 2000 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 18, 2000
LOS ANGELES - USC showed it can score in its season-opener. Now, coach Henry Bibby wants to see some defense.
Sam Clancy scored a career-high 31 points and all five USC starters reached double figures as the 23rd-ranked Trojans beat Bradley 107-92 Saturday night.
"We didn't play with the intensity I'd like. Maybe it was first-game jitters," Bibby said. "I'd like to see more of a killer instinct."
Clancy, a junior who missed 10 games last season because of a broken foot, sent the Braves to their 10th straight defeat against a Top 25 team in the first meeting between the schools since 1974.
Jerome Robinson, the last player cut from Canada's Olympic basketball team, led the Braves with a career-high 31 points. Freshman Phillip Gilbert, a former high school teammate of Los Angeles Clipper rookie Darius Miles, added 22 points.
Trailing by one at halftime, the Trojans outscored Bradley 20-9 to start the second half. A putback by Clancy gave the Trojans their first double-digit lead of the game, 68-58, with 15:40 remaining.
The Braves had three starters in foul trouble at the break. Reggie Hall picked up his fourth foul seconds into the second half and Jeffrey Rabey added three fouls in the first two minutes to give him four.
USC made 18 of 24 free throws in the second half when the Braves were forced to foul.
"I thought a key to the game was we put them into the bonus with 17 minutes to go in the game," Bradley coach Jim Molinari said. "That took away some of our aggressiveness."
Bradley shot 75 percent in the first half and led by six three times. The Braves finished the game shooting 60 percent from the field, 65 percent from the line and 61 percent from 3-point range.
"I haven't seen a team shoot the way Bradley did," Bibby said. "We should have fouled them more."
USC's David Bluthenthal, who missed both preseason games while recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery, had 23 points and 13 rebounds. He made all four of his free-throw attempts, extending his streak of consecutive foul shots to 37, dating to the final seven games of last season, and tying the school record set by John Block.
The Trojans scored 100 points for the first time since beating San Diego State 101-54 to open the 1999 season. The Braves hadn't had an opponent go over the century mark since they beat Loyola of Chicago 111-107 on Dec. 23, 1988, a span of 309 games.
"This was a measuring stick for us on how far we have to go," Bibby said. "We can be as good as we want to be. That will be determined by the players."
The Trojans played without Jeff Trepagnier, who is expected to start at guard for his third straight season. He missed both preseason games while recovering from a hairline fracture in his left foot.
"We'll sit Trepagnier as long as we can to get him healthy," Bibby said. "Maybe it'll be one, two, three, four games. He can run and cut, but he still feels a bit of pain."
The Braves were without sophomore guard Andre Corbitt and junior forward Jermaine Brown. Corbitt was suspended for the opener as a result of an altercation at a party last weekend. He traveled with the team, but didn't dress. Brown left the team this week.
By BETH HARRIS
AP Sports Writer
