TROJANS SHAKY IN WIN USC SCORES 18 TOTAL POINTS IN SECOND HALF USC 59, MIAMI (OHIO) 55.

Byline: Scott Wolf Staff Writer

USC revealed a new side to its personality Sunday afternoon: The Trojans showed they are capable of playing lousy against underwhelming competition.

That's not an especially comforting thought with Pacific-10 Conference play starting in less than two weeks, but the Trojans were just happy with a victory after defeating Miami of Ohio 59-55 in front of 5,115 at the Sports Arena.

``Once we get into the Pac-10 games, we won't remember how we beat Miami, we'll just remember a win,'' USC point guard Brandon Granville said.

That's an optimistic outlook, because the Trojans probably need to forget how they played against the Red Hawks, as USC scored just 18 points in the second half.

More embarrassing, USC forward Sam Clancy grabbed one rebound in 39 minutes, although he did score 15 points.

``Sam Clancy didn't rebound at all,'' USC coach Henry Bibby said. ``How can Sam Clancy get one rebound? That's incredible to me.''

Clancy offered no defense for his rebounding.

``It was just one of those games,'' he said. ``That's not really an excuse, though.''

There were other lowlights. The Trojans nearly blew an 18-point first- half lead, made just eight of 18 free throws and were outrebounded 36-23.

USC (6-2) led 57-55 with 3.1 seconds left, when Miami (2-5) fouled forward David Bluthenthal.

Before Bluthenthal's free throws, a lively exchange took place between him and Miami center Alex Shorts, who had a game-high 19 points.

``He said, `Those are big shots,' '' Bluthenthal said. ``And I said, `That's what I do, hit big shots.' ''

Bluthenthal was right. He nailed both free throws with 3.1 seconds left to give the Trojans their four-point margin of victory.

``We drew up a play for Dave,'' Bibby said. ``We did the same thing against Kentucky (in the NCAA Tournament). That's the guy we want to shoot.''

Thanks to a couple of good practices, Bluthenthal made it back into the starting lineup Sunday, as Bibby used his seventh different starting lineup in eight games, with Bluthenthal returning in place of sophomore guard Desmon Farmer.

The decision paid off, as Bluthenthal scored eight points in the first half, including two 3-pointers. Center Kostas Charissis also remained in the starting lineup for the second consecutive game.

``I'm still looking to see where we are,'' Bibby said. ``We've used several guys at small forward, but I would like to go (at small forward) with David Bluthenthal. He's my sentimental choice.''

Bibby contemplated going small against the Red Hawks by starting guards Granville, Errick Craven, Robert Hutchinson and Farmer along with Clancy. But he instead ran a more conventional lineup.

It worked early, as the Trojans took a 41-23 lead with less than three minutes remaining in the first half. But Miami went on an 11-0 run that only ended when Granville hit a 3-pointer with 16:03 left in the game to give USC a 44-34 lead.

The Trojans went scoreless for a 6-minute, 49-second span that carried over from the first half into the second, but still managed to hold a double-digit lead.

Following Granville's basket, USC went nearly another three minutes before scoring again. The Red Hawks kept cutting away at the lead, trimming the deficit to three points (55-52) as Shorts scored seven consecutive points for Miami.

--Note: Another USC student won $10,000 in free tuition Sunday, when senior music major Damien Gordon of Lakewood hit a layup, free throw, 3-point shot and half-court shot. Gordon, who is a trumpet player in the USC band, was clearly behind the line so there should be no controversy awarding him the money.

The previous winner, Aaron Burgin , originally did not receive the prize money after the videotape showed he crossed the line. An insurance company later decided to award Burgin the money anyway.

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USC's Desmon Farmer, right, defends against Miami of Ohio's Ben Helmers during the Trojans' win Sunday at the Sports Arena.

Reed Saxon/Associated Press