PEPPERDINE DOES IT ONCE AGAIN USC JOINS UCLA ON WAVES' LIST OF L.A. CASUALTIES PEPPERDINE 78, USC 77.

Byline: Scott Wolf Staff Writer

INGLEWOOD - Pepperdine owns greater L.A. And Malibu. And Westwood.

The Waves are the undisputed kings of the Southland following a stunning 78-77 victory over USC on Thursday night, as guard Craig Lewis banked in a 3-pointer with 2.5 seconds remaining that helped Pepperdine sweep the Trojans and UCLA.

USC guard Errick Craven tried a desperation shot outside the 3-point line, but time had already expired and the Pepperdine fans among the 4,632 at the Forum stormed the court.

``We will claim that we own L.A., at least right now,'' Pepperdine coach Paul Westphal said.

Lewis' dramatic shot capped an unusual final 11.6 seconds. With USC ahead 77-75, forward Sam Clancy missed two free throws. The Waves called timeout with eight seconds left, and then USC coach Henry Bibby called two more timeouts before the ball was inbounded.

After the final timeout, Westphal waved his hand in frustration toward the USC bench.

``I drew up the play and showed it to (Bibby),'' Westphal said. ``We didn't care. We were going to run it anyway. We just wanted to play.''

Apparently, Bibby needed to call another timeout. He instructed the Trojans, who had five team fouls, to foul again, but no one touched Lewis, who hit his 3-pointer over Clancy and Brandon Granville.

``Sam had four fouls and he's thinking there will be an overtime,'' Bibby said. ``It won't need to go into overtime if we foul someone. We wanted to foul every time (we called a timeout). You make mental mistakes and it costs you the game.''

None of that could take away from Lewis' magical shot, which hit the glass and went in.

``I just wanted it to go in,'' Lewis said. ``I don't care if it hit the backboard.''

USC (4-2) scored just four points in the final eight minutes and blew an 11-point lead (73-62). Clancy, who had 25 points and 14 rebounds, did not score in the final 11 minutes. Lewis and Terrance Johnson each scored 19 points for the Waves (4-2).

``I think we just got timid,'' Granville said. ``They played with no fear.''

The game was an extra pleasure for Westphal, who coached against USC for the first time. Westphal, who was an All-American in the early '70s for the Trojans, was offered the USC head-coaching position in 1996 but turned it down because he preferred to be an NBA coach.

Bibby, who played against Westphal when he was at UCLA, eventually received the job.

That wasn't the only reason there was plenty of energy, despite a fairly small crowd.

Pepperdine swept USC and UCLA for the first time in school history. The Waves defeated UCLA 85-78 last month and were looking for Southland bragging rights.

USC asserted itself to start the second half, outscoring the Waves 10-4 to open up a 55-46 lead with 15:44 remaining. A tip-in by Craven gave the Trojans a 63-51 lead with 13 minutes left.

But the cushion started to evaporate after Johnson made a 3-point shot and a three-footer to cut the lead to 65-58, but after Granville hit two free throws, the lead was back to nine points again, 69-58.

By that time, Clancy already had 25 points, more than double any other Trojan. But he failed to score again.

Then the Waves chipped away, outscoring USC 16-4 over the final eight minutes.

USC got nearly all of its first-half scoring from Clancy (17 points) and guard Desmon Farmer (12 points). Farmer, who scored 20 points against Rhode Island on Tuesday, had his second consecutive strong game since beingsuspended last weekend against Bradley.

The Waves were led by Lewis and Jimmy Miggins, who each had 13 points. Although the Waves shot 59 percent in the half, they were outrebounded 22-14, and Clancy had eight by himself. USC shot 46 percent in the half.

Bibby reverted to a more conventional lineup for the contest, starting Craven, Farmer, Granville, David Bluthenthal and Clancy. Granville, Bluthenthal and Clancy - USC's three senior starters - were benched for the first 10 minutes the Rhode Island game.

The only surprise was that freshman center Rory O'Neil, who had started the previous three games, was not in the lineup. He entered the game with 12 minutes left in the first half.

Craven had four assists and three rebounds but missed all six shot attempts in the first half.

The freshman bounced back in the second half with 12 points.

--Notes: Utah Jazz guard John Stockton, a Gonzaga alumnus, watched his alma mater play Fresno State in the opening contest. In order to make the small crowd appear less noticeable, large black curtains covered parts of the upper section at the Forum.

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Photo:

(color) USC's Brandon Granville (5) scoots past Pepperdine's Terrance Johnson on Thursday.

Charlotte Schmid-Maybach/Staff Photographer