DUKE HITS IN CLUTCH; USC FADES IN LAST EIGHT MINUTES; DUNLEAVY STARS : DUKE 81, USC 68.

Byline: Vincent Bonsignore Staff Writer

With eight minutes left and USC closing in on Duke, Jarvis Turner pleaded with the Trojans to dig in.

``Three stops, fellas,'' Turner said as the Trojans took defensive position.

Well, so much for that.

A few seconds later, Mick Dunleavy sank an open 3-pointer. A minute after that, Dunleavy hit another deep 3, then forced a steal and skipped a nice bounce pass to Chris Carrawell for an easy layup.

Just like that, a manageable eight-point deficit for the Trojans was a huge 13-point hole. They never recovered in an 81-68 loss at the sixth annual John Wooden Classic before 11,847 Saturday at the Pond.

USC (2-3) had hoped playing 16th-ranked Duke would offer clues to its identity. The Trojans might not like what they found out.

``I'm not worried about our offense; we'll score points,'' USC coach Henry Bibby said. ``My concerns are will we make a defensive stop when we need to, will we get a rebound when we have to have one?''

They didn't Saturday, not at the critical moments to which Bibby alluded, and especially not during the sequence in which Duke took control.

Just prior to Dunleavy's daggers, USC got two dunks from Jeff Trepagnierto cut the lead to 65-57. The crowd was hyped. USC's reserves were up off the bench and the Trojans had momentum. But two mental blunders - USC double-teamed in the paint, leaving Dunleavy wide open on the wing - undid the Trojans.

``Usually after a couple of dunks like that, the team buckles down and plays some defense,'' Trepagnier said. ``But (Dunleavy) hit a couple of big shots and that killed it right there.''

Dunleavy, a gangly 6-foot-7 guard, finished with 13 points, four steals, five assists and five rebounds.

``You should never lose a shooter like that,'' Bibby said. ``Those are some of the mental things we've got to work on.''

USC got 19 points and eight rebounds from Sam Clancy and 17 points from Brian Scalabrine. Unfortunately for the Trojans, 13 came in the first half. Scalabrine disappeared in the second under the defensive pressure of Shane Battier, Duke's designated stopper.

``I knew after I got 10 points, (Battier) basically decided I wasn't going to score anymore,'' Scalabrine said. ``And that's basically what he did, shut me down.''

Scalabrine's comment seemed to irk Bibby, who felt his junior forward was giving Battier too much respect.

``You're one of the best players in the country,'' Bibby told Scalabrine. ``Nobody can stop you.''

The Trojans stayed close in the first half, trailing by just six at intermission. They shot reasonably well overall - finishing at a respectable 45 percent - and weren't beaten badly on the boards, 35-33.

They just couldn't get it done when it counted.

``Duke has that mystique,'' Bibby said. ``Like an extra hand guiding (the ball) in when a shot bounces off the rim a couple of times.''

This isn't the Duke powerhouse of years past. The Blue Devils have four freshmen playing significant minutes after losing four key players from last year's national-champion runner-up. Duke dropped its first two games of the year before evening things out with wins over Army and Columbia.

The Blue Devils came in with just as many questions as USC but leave as an improving team.

Carrawell had 24 points. Nate James had 14 points and seven assists, hurting USC with his dribble penetration. Freshman point guard Jason Williams added 13 points. And of course there was Dunleavy, whose father, Mike, the Portland Trail Blazers head coach, was watching from the stands.

``Five games into his college career, to be making plays like that is huge,'' said Duke coach Mike Krzyzweski. ``I thought the two shots he hit broke the game open for us.''

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PHOTO (color) Duke's Carlos Boozer dunks over USC's Brian Scalabrine, who scored well himself in the first half, then was stifled.

Reed Saxon/Associated Press