TROJANS OFFER NO DEFENSE FOR LOSS QUIET USC FADES IN SECOND HALF, FALLS TO 0-4 WASH. ST. 69, USC 52.

Byline: Scott Wolf  Staff Writer

USC better hurry up and introduce Tim Floyd as its new coach, or his price might go up.

With interim coach Jim Saia consigned to lame-duck status, it didn't look like the Trojans found any reason to play with urgency, or much defense either, as Washington State cruised to a 69-52 victory before 2,155 Saturday night at the Sports Arena.

It's hard to blame Saia, when the players know he won't be back next season no matter what. Maybe that explains why playing weakside defense became so difficult or why USC disappeared after trailing by just five points (32-27) at halftime.

``I don't know. I have no idea what's happening,'' point guard Derrick Craven said. ``We didn't get any stops. We don't know what's up.''

Craven said the Trojans (7-8, 0-4) haven't given up although they are off to their worst Pacific-10 Conference start in 14 years.

``It's about pride. You have to have pride,'' he said. ``You can't just be losing. I, personally, haven't given up. The team's fighting but making mistakes.''

Saia said part of the problem is USC's players are quiet and don't speak to each other on defense, nor do they rally the team when it gets down in a game.

``We don't communicate with each other on the floor,'' he said. ``No one encourages each other or says, 'It's OK. We can fight back.'''

At least in the past, the team could unify behind the players' dislike of Henry Bibby.

``It's just a quiet group of guys,'' Saia said. ``They're not being defiant. They're just quiet. That's what we're dealing with.''

It didn't help USC that Washington State (7-6, 2-2) plays a slow style of basketball. Saia tried to shake things up at halftime by pressing and switching to a zone defense. But the Cougars were successful under those conditions, too, as guard Jeff Varem scored 13 of 21 points in the second half, almost exclusively inside with little resistance.

``Dick Bennett is a Hall of Fame coach,'' Saia said. ``I got outcoached in every phase of the game.''

Saia knows he's on borrowed time, but that doesn't make the winless start in conference play easier to comprehend, especially with a trip to Arizona this week.

``I'm very concerned, but we've got 14 more games,'' he said. ``Maybe we can get in the Pac-10 Tournament. I'm not giving up.''

The Trojans received a scare when freshman point guard Gabe Pruitt bruised his left knee after he hit the floor hard in the second half. Pruitt is day-to-day and will have X-rays taken Monday.

``I hit a wet spot and slipped,'' Pruitt said. ``I was kind of in shock when I did it.''

Saia said he'll give Pruitt time off this week because he's wearing down physically.

``He needs some time off,'' Saia said.

Pruitt said the Trojans' morale is not a problem but that the team's enthusiasm tends to wane, like it did in the second half Saturday, when the Trojans shot 28 percent.

``It was pretty frustrating. That was a team we should have beat. But we had a lot of mental lapses,'' he said. ``The intensity kind of fell, and we allowed open shots.''

Pruitt has been one of the few redeeming qualities of this season. USC's other starting freshman, Nick Young, made just 2 of 10 shots and had one of his worst games of the season.

Lodrick Stewart led USC with 14 points and was the only Trojan to score in double figures.

Scott Wolf, [phone]

scott.wolf(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

Washington State's Kyle Weaver, left, slips past USC's Rory O'Neil on Saturday at the Sports Arena.

Evan Yee/Staff Photographer