TROJANS DO THEIR PART SEVERAL USC PLAYERS SHOW LEADERSHIP ABILITIES IN WIN OVER USD USC 71, SAN DIEGO 67.

Byline: Lee Barnathan Staff Writer

SAN DIEGO - The rudderless ship that is the USC men's basketball team still doesn't have an undisputed leader.

But in Thursday night's 71-67 overtime victory over San Diego at Jenny Craig Pavilion before 4,112, many auditioned.

There was forward Sam Clancy yelling and taking four of his 10 rebounds and blocking two shots in overtime.

There was backup point guard Robert Hutchinson running the offense late and guarding USD guard Andre Laws, who entered the night 16th in the country with a 22.6-point average.

There was starting point guard Brandon Granville also guarding Laws and hitting a 3-pointer with 2:12 to play that gave the Trojans (7-2) a 68-66 lead it never relinquished.

And, there was forward David Bluthenthal, who earned his first double- double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

While coach Henry Bibby would not acknowledge anyone had stepped forward to assume the role, he did call the effort over the last 10 minutes the team's ``most together'' this season in terms of ``intensity and with guys wanting to play.''

Throughout the game, San Diego (5-4) would take leads, only to have the Trojans come back. The leads were never more than seven points (43-36 with 15:28 to play in the second half), but unlike the Pepperdine game Dec. 6, USC displayed more than enough scrappiness to beat this West Coast Conference team.

When the Trojans could score inside, as they were able to midway through the second half with a 13-8 spurt that cut the Torero lead to 57-56, they were effective.

This despite Clancy, who didn't played well Thursday, finishing with just 12 points. But when Bluthenthal fouled out 59 seconds into overtime, Clancy awoke.

His impact wasn't in the scoring because by overtime, he wasn't part of the offense. Bibby said Clancy has troubles with the double- and triple- teaming he sees, so Clancy became a decoy.

But his defense nonetheless impressed his teammates, especially Bluthenthal.

``He stepped it up. He wasn't playing well the whole game,'' said Bluthenthal, who scored the 1,000th point of his career that came in the first half. ``That's what he has to do. He has to step it up. He's a leader that that's what we expect of him. It's fun to watch. Sam's not usually an animated guy, so when he does, it gets interesting.''

Hutchinson and Granville give USC two different point guards. Granville prefers to score (he averages 12 points per game but had nine Thursday, including the game-winning 3-pointer) in part because, as he put it,``I'm not going to shy away. I'm a senior. I've got to step it up.''

Hutchinson prefers to not shoot as much. He had just six points in 24 minutes, but two of those points came on free throws with 2:33 to playin overtime that tied the score 65-65.

He was critical in the closing seconds chasing Laws around the court. Laws missed a jumper with 15 seconds to play and had a 3-pointer blocked by Clancy with one second to play. Laws finished with 21 points, giving him 1,010 in his career.

``That's what Bibby expects of the backup point guard,'' Hutchison said. ``He expects the point guard to play that role. He expects us to lead by example and by verbal.''

And yet, Bibby isn't convinced the Trojans have a leader. On this night, it didn't matter when everyone tried to lead.

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

Jason Blair (34) of the University of San Diego is unable to stop shot try by USC's Sam Clancy. Trojans beat the Toreros 71-67.

Denis Poroy/Associated Press