IT'S A FORUM FOR CHANGE USC TOPS IN TOWN AFTER RARE WIN OVER RIVAL UCLA IN INGLEWOOD USC 81, UCLA 77.

Byline: Scott Wolf  Staff Writer

INGLEWOOD - USC forward David Bluthenthal had beaten UCLA once in his career, so there was little surprise about where he ranked Thursday's 81-77 victory over the Bruins in front of 15,903 at the Forum.

``The biggest win of my career,'' Bluthenthal said. ``A huge win. This was the pinnacle. Those were great victories last year in the NCAA Tournament but you always remember the last one.''

Bluthenthal grabbed 18 rebounds as the Trojans manhandled the Bruins under the basket with a 46-33 rebounding advantage. It explained how USC won despite shooting 37 percent from the field.

The battle for Los Angeles meant much more as USC (13-2, 5-0) moved into sole possession of first place in the Pacific-10 Conference, a game ahead of the Bruins (11-3, 4-1).

``I think we have something special here,'' USC point guard Brandon Granville said. ``We're undefeated in the Pac-10.''

UCLA forward Matt Barnes scored a career-high 34 points and tied a school record with seven 3-pointers. Barnes made 12 of 17 shots.

USC forward Sam Clancy led USC with 19 points although he went 5 for 15 from the field. Granville added 18 points and had no turnovers in 33 minutes.

The Trojans played more than seven minutes of the second half without Granville, who was poked in the eye. Junior Robert Hutchinson was forced to fill in.

Despite the closeness of the game USC never trailed in the second half, although the score was tied twice.

USC held an eight-point advantage early in the second half, but the Bruins cut the lead to 52-50 with 13:13 left as Barnes hit two 3-pointers.

But USC came back as Clancy scored on a three-point play and dunk to give the Trojans a 57-50 advantage with 10:10 remaining. Immediately after that basket, however, UCLA scored on a four-point play as T.J. Cummings hit a basket and Billy Knight was fouled and converted two free throws to make it 57-54.

The teams then went cold and combined for three points in the next 4 1/2 minutes.

But Barnes brought UCLA back almost singlehandedly, hitting a free throw and two 3-point shots to tie the game 62-62 with four minutes left.

USC freshman guard Errick Craven then made a 3-pointer and stole the ball from Barnes, driving the length of the court for a layup to give the Trojans a 69-64 lead with three minutes remaining.

In a game befitting two teams that were tied for first place in the Pac-10, the game stayed close throughout.

Neither team pulled away for most of the first half, with the lead changing hands 12 times. USC's biggest advantage was 13-8, and UCLA held a 20-16 lead.

But USC made a small spurt in the final three minutes of the half, outscoring the Bruins 10-3 to take a 37-28 halftime advantage.

It was the biggest lead for either team in the opening 20 minutes.

The Trojans shot an atrocious 25 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes but had a 19-5 advantage over UCLA in offensive rebounds. UCLA had 19 total rebounds in the half.

USC's lead also came without much help from Clancy, who had only seven points and was just 1 for 10 from the field.

Bluthenthal made up for that with 10 points and 11 rebounds, though he made just 2 of 8 shots. Granville had eight points and two assists.

UCLA received a boost from Barnes, who had 12 points in the first half while Jason Kapono added seven. Kapono was held to just 13 points overall. Center Dan Gadzuric had nine rebounds and four points in the half.

The Bruins shot two free throws in the first half and USC shot 17, making 12.

The Bruins shot 43 percent in the first half.

Another odd stat was USC's zero turnovers in the first half. The Trojans committed 47 in two games against the Bruins last season. But unlike those two games, the Bruins did little full-court pressing Thursday.

The contest was the first of three potential meetings if the teams play each other in the season-ending Pac-10 tournament.

--Notes: Among those in attendance were former UCLA coach Gene Bartow, ex-Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda and ex-Dodgers general manager Kevin Malone, former USC assistant Sam Williams, former USC guard Adam Spanich and ex-assistant Dave Miller sporting a baseball cap. ...

Unlike USC's first three games at the Forum, there were no curtains used to cover parts of the upper-seating areas.

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Photo:

(color) The Trojans' Errick Craven, left, pulls a rebound away from the Bruins' Andre Patterson on Thursday.

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer