MAN TO MAN, USC TOO MUCH FOR ARIZONA STATE : USC 75, ASU 56.Byline: Scott Wolf Scott Richard Wolf (born June 4, 1968) is an American actor. Born in Boston, Massachusetts to Steven Wolf and Susan Enowitch, Wolf was raised in West Orange, New Jersey. He graduated in 1986 from West Orange High School. Daily News Staff Writer Stais Boseman was exhausted. His legs felt rubbery after consecutive games guarding two of the best offensive players in the Pacific-10 Conference The Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) is a college athletic conference which operates in the western United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I. Membership Full members . But Boseman never felt better mentally as he sat in the USC An abbreviation for U.S. Code. locker room Saturday. The Trojans had just defeated Arizona State 75-56 before 2,559 fans at the Sports Arena, and Boseman experienced the first sweep of the Arizona schools in his career. ``It's a big-time weekend,'' he said. ``Those of us who were part of all the losing streaks can appreciate it a little bit more. Going into the season, I never thought by the third week of the season we'd be in second place.'' That is where USC sits, however, halfway through a critical four-game homestand that concludes this week with games against UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX and No. 4 Cincinnati. The Trojans (9-5, 4-2) are continuing to be one of the Pac-10's pleasant surprises, as much for their resiliency as their victories. They came out flat and sluggish against Arizona State, an expected response after their upset of No. 6 Arizona on Thursday. They also struggled offensively, shooting 36.2 percent from the field. But even without a sharp offense, USC demonstrated it can find other methods to win games. On Saturday, the Trojans relied on tight man-to-man defense Man to man defense is a type of defensive tactic used in basketball and Football (Soccer) in which each player is assigned to defend and follow the movements of a single player on offense. Often, a player guards his counterpart (e.g. to defeat the Sun Devils
Boseman had four steals and hounded Arizona State guard Jeremy Veal all over the court. More surprisingly, forward Gary Williams For the wrestler with the same name, see . Gary B. Williams (born March 4, 1945 in Collingswood, New Jersey, United States) is the current head coach of the University of Maryland's Men's basketball team. shut down Sun Devils forward Michael Batiste Michael James Batiste or Mike Batiste (born November 21 1977 in Long Beach, California) is an American professional basketball player currently playing for Panathinaikos in Greece. He played collegiately for Arizona State University. . Although Batiste ba·tiste n. A fine, plain-woven fabric made from various fibers and used especially for clothing. [French, from Old French, perhaps after Baptiste of Cambrai, 13th-century textile maker. entered the game averaging 18.4 points, he was held to seven points and missed 8 of 11 shots. ``I think one of the keys was Gary Williams on Michael Batiste. We didn't know if he could shut him down,'' USC coach Henry Bibby said. ``Batiste never got it going. We wanted to front Batiste and not let him catch the basketball, and that took him out of the play.'' USC also dominated the Sun Devils under the basket. The Trojans outrebounded Arizona State 49-29 and held a 24-9 edge on the offensive board. Freshman Jarvis Turner had a career-high 10 rebounds. The Trojans also briefly found their offense when they needed it. After Veal's 3-pointer tied the score at 50-50 with 8:56 remaining, USC went on a 12-0 run. Jaha Wilson made a layup, Williams scored five straight points and center David Crouse followed with the next five points. Just like that, the Trojans turned a potential nail-biter into a comfortable victory. ``We didn't panic, we stayed poised,'' Crouse said. ``In my five years here, we've never beaten Arizona and never swept the Arizonas at home.'' It might have been a more significant event for the entire team if there weren't nine new players on the roster. But for seniors like Crouse and Boseman, there was little doubt what had been accomplished. For the third straight game, Boseman (18 points) led USC in scoring. Combined with his excellent defense the past two games (on Veal and Arizona's Michael Dickerson), he appears close to shedding his image of inconsistency. ``I thought Stais, with a couple steals . . . he really got us going more than anything,'' Bibby said. ``I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. if that's the case yet (with Stais). With this team, we've been day to day on who's going to step up. That's what's been intriguing about this team.'' Also returning to a significant role was shooting guard Ken Sims. After being mired mire n. 1. An area of wet, soggy, muddy ground; a bog. 2. Deep slimy soil or mud. 3. A disadvantageous or difficult condition or situation: the mire of poverty. v. in a shooting slump, Sims made three straight 3-pointers in the first half. Bibby had predicted Friday that Sims might break out of his slump and that he would give Sims a chance to shoot more. ``Yesterday at practice, coach Bibby told me that's why I'm here, to shoot the ball,'' Sims said. ``He told me to go out today and let it fly.'' Notes: Boseman, who was a two-sport star at Morningside High School Morningside High is a high school in Inglewood, California. In popular culture In 1993, Wesley Snipes narrated the documentary, Hardwood Dreams, following five MHS seniors during their last high school basketball season as they dream of the NBA. in Inglewood, said he is not considering remaining at USC next season to play football. ``One time around college is enough for me,'' Boseman said. . . . For the second straight game, Justin Simpson, the youngest son of O.J. Simpson, was a USC ball boy. CLEAN SWEEP USC swept the Arizona schools for the first time since 1992, the last time the Trojans made the NCAA Tournament. The Trojans had not defeated Arizona State at the Sports Arena since 1993. The Trojans are 7-0 at the Sports Arena this season. Arizona State committed a season-high 27 turnovers. USC has forced 20 or more turnovers in 11 of its 14 games. CAPTION(S): Photo, Box Photo: Arizona State coach Bill Frieder can't believe a call that was made in USC's favor. Associated Press Box: CLEAN SWEEP (see text) |
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