RESERVE GUARD A TITAN FOR TROJANS USC 78, CSF 63.

Byline: Scott Wolf Staff Writer

USC senior Robert Hutchinson is not the Trojans' point guard of the future, and he sometimes finds it hard just to be part of the present.

That was certainly the case Wednesday night, when Hutchinson's badly sprained ankle nearly kept him from playing against Cal State Fullerton.

``My ankle was killing me,'' Hutchinson said. ``I thought I wasn't going to be able to go. I told Coach (Henry) Bibby I'd give it a try.''

Hutchinson might want to stay injured if it keeps him playing like he did against Fullerton. He hit his first seven shots and scored 17 points as the Trojans defeated the Titans 78-63 in front of 2,096 at the Sports Arena.

``After the first five minutes, I could feel it throbbing,'' said Hutchinson, who went 7 for 8 from the field.

It was the kind of effort that Hutchinson - a reserve his first two seasons at USC - needs to fend off touted sophomore point guards Brandon Brooks and Derrick Craven.

``I don't think about it. I just play hard,'' Hutchinson said. ``I don't care about publicity.''

Bibby praised Hutchinson after the game for filling whatever role the young Trojans need.

``He's been our MVP, whatever we need done, he's done,'' Bibby said. ``He doesn't even play point guard in practice because we know what he can do. He's a utility man.''

Besides Hutchinson, USC got its offense from forward Rory O'Neil, who scored a career-high 22 points and made 9 of 10 shots. He was one successful shot from the school record for field-goal percentage.

It was a complete turnaround for O'Neil, who was 2 for 10 last weekend against Missouri at the Wooden Classic.

``He and I had a conversation after the Missouri game,'' Bibby said. ``I told him to keep shooting the ball. I started him tonight because of the way he shoots the basketball.''

O'Neil also had a good practice Tuesday that gave Bibby further confidence to rely on his 6-foot-11 sophomore.

``He wasn't going to go away from me because I had a bad game,'' O'Neil said. ``He said, `You just have to stop thinking about it and start shooting.' ''

It was a hard contest to judge the Trojans, because Fullerton is 1-5 and lost to such notables as Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

USC (3-3), off to its worst start in three years, is back to .500 and won after losing two games.

``Right now, we're trying to feel our way through,'' Bibby said.

There was some anticipation in the air, even if it didn't come from the crowd. Titans center Pape Sow, who drew a higher-than-usual turnout of 12 NBA scouts and Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak, had 18 points and 11 rebounds.

Early on, it looked like the game might be suspenseful. The game was tied 13-13 before USC outscored the Titans 20-7 to take a 33-20 lead on a layup by Robert Hutchinson with 3:59 left.

The Trojans were never threatened again by the overmatched Titans.

Not surprisingly, Hutchinson and O'Neil carried the Trojans in the first half, hitting 9 of 10 shots combined, with Hutchinson going 5 for 5 and scoring a team-high 13 points. Sophomore guard Errick Craven appeared to snap out of his 8-for-36 slump, hitting all three of his 3-point shots in the first half en route to 11 points. But he finished making only 3 of 9 shots overall.

Fullerton guard Ralphy Holmes led the Titans in the first half with 16 points, going 7 for 10 from the field. But he scored only five points in the second half.

--Notes: USC center Jonathan Oliver was forced to leave the game with 12 minutes remaining in the first half because of a twisted ankle and will undergo a magnetic- resonance imaging test today to see if there is further damage.

``I don't know if I'll need crutches or not,'' said Oliver, who was wearing a protective boot on his foot after the game. ``After a while I couldn't walk on it.'' ...

Bibby started his sixth different lineup of the season, with Errick and Derrick Craven at guard, Desmon Farmer and O'Neil at forward and Kostas Charissis at center. ...

USC is off until Dec. 21, when the Trojans host La Salle at the Sports Arena.

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

(color) no caption (USC and Cal State Fullerton basketball game)

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press