NOTHING COULD BE MUCH FINER STEWART, YOUNG LEAD USC PAST TAR HEELS.

Byline: Matthew Kredell Staff Writer

Gabe Pruitt threw the ball high in the air as the buzzer sounded, fans the Trojans didn't even know they had stormed the court and Nick Young leaped onto the scorer's table, slapping hands with anyone who came by.

Coming off an embarrassing season and thought to be in a rebuilding year, the Trojans' jubilation was heartfelt and justified.

In its biggest win under first-year coach Tim Floyd, USC pulled off a 74-59 upset of No. 17 North Carolina in front of a season-high crowd of 5,921 at the Sports Arena.

The football team isn't the only one on campus that knows how to win big games.

``I always wanted to run around the court like that,'' said Pruitt, who kept the Trojans in the game early with 12 of his 16 points in the first half. ``This is a big confidence boost. Our confidence level is really high.''

USC's previous seven victories in the streak came against average teams at best, leaving plenty of doubt before Wednesday as to how good the young Trojans really were.

The victory was the Trojans' eighth in a row, and was also their first victory over a ranked opponent since they defeated No. 23 Cal in March 2003. It was also USC's first victory ever over North Carolina in eight tries.

For once, USC basketball was the hot ticket in town. The usually barren stands were filled for two levels, with people sitting in the upper deck for the first time this season. Even the student section was nearly full.

The Trojans (8-2) didn't disappoint.

Down 35-30 at the half with the game slowly slipping away, USC came out with a purpose in the second half.

Young and Lodrick Stewart, who struggled in the first half, came out aggressively in the second. Young hit a 3-pointer on USC's first possession, and sank another four minutes into the half put USC ahead 41-39.

Ryan Francis found Young for an alley-oop dunk on the fastbreak to put the Trojans in front 46-43.

North Carolina (6-2) switched to full-court pressure to force consecutive USC turnovers and take back the lead 47-46.

Then Stewart caught fire with consecutive 3-pointers to spark a 17-4 run.

USC's aggressive defense also led to the run. The Trojans finished with a season-high 16 steals, four each by Stewart and Pruitt, while holding North Carolina to 25-percent shooting in the second half.

``They got to every loose ball, they were smarter and they were better coached,'' Tar Heels coach Roy Williams said. ``We penetrated and thought it was going to be easy, but they always had someone on their defense come over and help. They were the aggressor.''

Stewart and Young led the team with 18 points each after having two and four, respectively, in the first half.

Last year in Chapel Hill, USC fell behind by 30 points in the first half on the way to a 97-65 loss that was one of its most embarrassing defeats in a season full of them.

On Wednesday, the Trojans got a standing ovation from the crowd for the final two minutes. Abdoulaye N'diaye, who controlled the inside defensively with four blocks, punctuated the victory with an alley-oop dunk off a pass from Francis with 30 seconds to go.

``We wanted payback,'' Pruitt said. ``It was pretty bad last year. We wanted to come out and play hard. This is a new year, and a new team, and we thought we could outfight them.''

Matthew Kredell, [phone]

matthew.kredell(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1) USC's Lodrick Stewart tries to fire up the Sports Arena crowd during the first half.

(2) USC players are mobbed by fans at the Sports Arena after the Trojans' win over North Carolina.

Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer