UNDERDOG BEATS DAWGS TROJANS GET UPSET WIN OVER HUSKIES USC 86, NO. 14 WASHINGTON 79 (2OT).

Byline: MATTHEW KREDELL Staff Writer

USC's status as the sleeper team in the Pac-10 conference was short- lived.

Nick Young scored 23 of his 25 points in the second half as the Trojans moved up to legitimate contender with a 86-79 double-overtime upset of No. 14 Washington in the Pac-10 opener Thursday at Galen Center.

With the score tied at 75 in double overtime, Gabe Pruitt and Young hit back-to-back 3-pointers to spark USC to victory.

The Trojans wouldn't give up on their second consecutive win over a highly ranked team despite rough finishes to regulation and the first overtime.

Spencer Hawes, Washington's fabulous freshman center, shocked the Trojans by hitting a 3-pointer to tie the game at the overtime buzzer. Hawes hadn't even attempted a 3-pointer all season.

USC had taken a 3-point lead when Keith Wilkinson, a sophomore forward making the second start of his career, got a long rebound of a Nick Young miss over Hawes and was fouled.

He made the first free throw and missed the second.

Young's drive into the lane and short jumper had put USC ahead 72-70 with 1:08 to go in overtime.

Regulation ended in controversy when Gabe Pruitt was bumped by Ryan Appleby as he made a move to the baseline. Pruitt momentarily lost the ball but there was no foul call. He recovered and threw up a jumper short off the rim as time expired.

That was after the Trojans missed a chance to put the game away up by two with 21.4 seconds left and a nine-second differential between the game and shot clocks. Pruitt dribbled around before getting a pass off to Cromwell, who missed a jumper with a second on the shot clock then fouled Adrian Oliver on the rebound attempt.

Oliver missed the front end of a one-and-one but Jon Brockman beat Cromwell for the rebound and was fouled. He sunk both free throws to tie the game.

< The Trojans beat then-No. 8 Wichita State on Saturday.

Washington was picked to finish third in the Pac-10 in the preseason media poll and had maintained that spot as the third-highest rated team behind UCLA and Arizona in nonconference play.

USC was picked to finish sixth in the conference. After a promising nonconference performance, forward Lodrick Stewart called the Trojans a sleeper in the Pac-10. The Trojans finished seventh in the Pac-10 last season and dead last the year before.

Taj Gibson stood toe-for-toe with Hawes, who before the game Tim Floyd called the ``most skilled big guy in the college game since Tim Duncan.'' Gibson had 22 points and nine rebounds compared to Hawes 24 points and five boards.

For the second game in a row, USC coach Tim Floyd tinkered with the lineup. Pruitt surprisingly made his first start of the season at point guard in place of Daniel Hackett. Pruitt, in his third game back from academic ineligibility, scored 16 points after being held scoreless his first two games.

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Washington's Quincy Pondexter, right, and USC's Gabe Pruitt lose their balance while reaching for a loose ball Thursday at Galen Center. The Trojans defeated the Huskies.

Danny Moloshok/Associated Press