TROJANS SHOWING TOURNEY TOUGHNESS SEVENTH SEED TO PLAY IN PAC-10 TITLE GAME USC 79, CAL 62.

Byline: Scott Wolf  Staff Writer

Spring break starts today at USC, but the Trojans delayed any vacation plans at least one more day. Perhaps even longer.

The new Cinderella of the Pacific-10 Conference tournament, the seventh-seeded Trojans upset third-seeded California 79-62 in a semifinal game Friday night.

The NCAA Tournament selection committee could face a new wrinkle this weekend if the Trojans defeat Oregon in the championship game at 3 p.m. today. USC (13-16) would earn the conference's automatic bid and gain its third consecutive NCAA appearance with a victory.

That could be bad news for Arizona State, which likely would be squeezed out of the NCAA Tournament.

This will be USC's second consecutive appearance in the title game. Last year, the Trojans lost to Arizona in the final.

All USC must do to earn a postseason bid is defeat Oregon, a team it split two games with this season. The Trojans defeated the Ducks by 15 points at the Sports Arena in February.

USC was 0-4 against Cal and Stanford, the teams it defeated in the first two rounds of the Pac-10 tournament.

The Trojans dominated Cal for most of the game and the second half largely was relegated to garbage time.

USC disposed of the Bears with inspired play from guard Desmon Farmer and forward Jerry Dupree, two of the stars of the 2002 Pac-10 tournament.

A dunk off an offensive rebound by Dupree put USC ahead 64-43 with 8:32 remaining. A tomahawk dunk by Dupree made it 67-45 with 7:35 to go.

Early in the second half, the Trojans built a 49-31 lead as Derrick Craven threw a near-halfcourt pass, while lying on the ground, to Farmer, who made a layup and was fouled, leading to a three-point play.

Rory O'Neil then hit a 3-pointer to give USC a 52-33 lead with 15 minutes remaining. Farmer had a game-high 21 points and could have had more if he didn't miss four free throws, the most he's missed in a college game.

But the Bears then went on a 7-0 run to cut the lead to 52-40 with 13:50 left. Cal's Joe Shipp, nearly nonexistent in the first half, keyed the comeback with 12 points in the first six minutes of the second.

But Errick Craven's dunk boosted the lead back to 56-40 with 11:26 remaining.

The Trojans took an unusually high 20 attempts from 3-point range in the first half and made six en route to a 39-27 halftime advantage. Farmer had 13 points and reserve guard Robert Hutchinson added six points. Farmer also had five assists and two steals.

The Trojans shot just 38 percent in the first half, but Cal wasn't much better at 39 percent. Guard Richard Midgley was the only player in double figures for Cal, with 10 points.

Cal's leading scorer, Shipp, took just three shots in the half and scored three points.

One difference between the teams in the opening 20 minutes was turnovers. Cal had 10 compared to four for the Trojans.

As in their opening round victory over Stanford, the Trojans came out aggressive from the outset.

USC took a 14-4 lead with 13:39 left as Derrick Craven and Farmer each had four points. The lead grew to 18-6 on a layup by O'Neil.

Cal (21-8) then scored nine consecutive points to trim the lead to 18-15 before Farmer, Hutchinson and O'Neil hit 3-pointers to stop the run. Farmer then scored on a drive to the basket and was fouled intentionally by David Paris, leading to a four-point play that gave the Trojans a 30-17 advantage. When Roy Smiley hit another 3-pointer, the lead grew to 33-17.

--Notes: USC coach Henry Bibby entered the game with a 3-11 record against Cal coach Ben Braun. ... Cal point guard A.J. Diggs did not play after spraining his left ankle late in Thursday's victory over Oregon State. ... Cal forward Brian Wethers was a game-time decision with a strained Achilles tendon. He played 12 minutes in the first half and did not play in the second half.

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Photo:

USC's Robert Hutchinson, left, and Cal's Brian Wethers go after a loose ball Friday during the Trojans' victory in the Pac-10 semifinals.

Kim D. Johnson/Associated Press