Trojans Fail to Take Care of Little Things

BERKELEY — USC thought it had solved California freshman point guard Richard Midgley.

Turns out he was the answer to the No. 25-ranked Golden Bears’ prayers and the latest late-game foil for the Trojans.

The 6-foot-1 Midgley weaved his way through a mass of bodies to rebound a Joe Shipp airball and laid the ball in with 44.6 seconds remaining to give California three points’ worth of breathing room. Then Shipp’s two free throws with 11.2 seconds to go sealed the Bears’ 73-68 victory in front of 10,540 at Haas Pavilion on Thursday night.

“I don’t know where he came from” on the put-back, said Trojan sophomore guard Errick Craven, who led USC with 20 points and had eight rebounds. “That was the killer right there.

“What’s his name? We gave him no respect.”

At least none in the first half.

The Trojans were so concerned with containing California’s three-headed scoring monster of Shipp (21.4 average), Amit Tamir (17.1) and Brian Wethers (14.0) that they forgot all about Midgley (8.9).

Left to roam the perimeter, Midgley knocked down four three-pointers in the first half and by halftime the native of England had scored a career-high 17 points, one fewer than the combined total of Shipp, Tamir and Wethers. Midgley finished with a game-high 23 points, Shipp with 13, Tamir with 12 and Wethers with 10.

“With the defensive attention those guys get, [the Trojans] weren’t planning on stopping a guy like me,” said Midgley, an English youth national team captain who allegedly twice scored 96 points in a game.

“On that put-back play, my guy, [Robert] Hutchinson, doubled down on Joe and I just took off to the basket. I’m not afraid to jump in there.”

On its ensuing possession, USC, needing a three-point basket to tie the score, worked the shot clock down before Desmon Farmer attempted an off-balance three-pointer from the left wing that hit the front of the rim and came down into the waiting hands of Shipp. Craven’s foul sent Shipp to the line and he gave the Golden Bears their largest lead of the second half.

The loss dropped the Trojans’ record to 7-7 overall, 3-3 in the Pacific 10 Conference. California is 13-2, 6-0.

“We did exactly what we wanted to do tonight,” said USC Coach Henry Bibby. “We played a team that is very, very good and we had a chance to win it in a tough environment. I’m not unhappy with the performance of the kids.”

His take on the officiating, however, was another story, especially after California was sent to the free-throw line nine times in the last 6 minutes 7 seconds. USC attempted one free throw in the same span.

“No comment,” said Bibby, who in recent weeks has said that the Pac-10’s referees are not making palming calls and are failing to limit physical play.

“There are some things that are supposed to be points of emphasis that are not being emphasized, OK?” Bibby said.

The Trojans stressed the running game in the early going, scoring the first seven points of the contest and going up, 9-2, less than three minutes into it.

But Cal responded and led by a first half-high eight points, 40-32, after a Midgley three-pointer at the 1:50 mark. A Nick Curtis basket with 47.7 seconds left pulled the Trojans within six at the end of the first half, during which USC went 10-deep in its rotation. The only scholarship player who didn’t play was senior center Kostas Charissis.

USC opened the second half with an 11-2 run to go up, 45-42. But after Cal pulled ahead, 50-46, neither team led by more than three until Shipp’s two free throws at the end.

Getting so close to beating a ranked team in its notoriously tough arena was of little solace to USC sophomore center Rory O’Neil, who had 19 points in a career-high 40 minutes.

“We’ve been playing better but this was a team that we thought we could beat,” said O’Neil, who also had a career-high nine field goals. “It was a big game and the only thing we can do now is try to learn from it and improve.”

Said Bibby: “Someone should have been there [on Midgley’s put-back]. Those are mistakes that you can’t have late in the game.”