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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- "Dream big. Focus small" is North
Carolina Wilmington's slogan this season.
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The Trojans staged a furious comeback to send the game into overtime. And it looked like USC would pull it out after freshman Errick Craven hit a big-time trifecta from the corner to tie the game.
But Brett Blizzard and company held tough in the extra period. Give Jerry Wainwright's team credit for scoring what was arguably the biggest upset of the day.
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The 13th-seeded Seahawks did just that against Southern
California, stunning the fourth-seeded Trojans 93-89 in overtime
Thursday night in a first-round South Regional game.
"Everybody doubts us except ourselves," said UNCW's Brent
Blizzard, who scored 18 points. "We didn't come here with our
cameras like we did two years ago. We came with the right attitude.
We didn't just talk about it, we did it."
The Trojans rallied from a 19-point deficit to force overtime,
getting a 3-pointer from freshman Errick Craven with 8 seconds
remaining to tie it at 80.
"When that ball went in to tie the game up, you have to ask
yourself, `How bad do you want it?' " UNCW coach Jerry Wainwright
said. "At a very deflating moment, they pulled together. They
played great in overtime."
In the 5-minute extra session, the Seahawks steadied themselves
and outscored the Trojans 13-9 to earn their first NCAA Tournament
victory. UNCW lost to Cincinnati two years ago in its only other
appearance.
"This goes back to how strong our will is," Blizzard said.
"Every team is going to make a run. You have to fight it off and
come back with one of your own."
Last year, USC (22-10) reached the final eight for the first
time since 1954, and lost to eventual national champion Duke.
Expectations were higher this year for a Final Four run.
"We were a good team, but probably not as good as everyone
thought," USC coach Henry Bibby said. "I didn't think we executed
when we needed to during the season. We covered up a lot of things
with our defense. The press carried us all year and we tricked a
lot of people."
It was a bitter ending for USC seniors Sam Clancy, Brandon
Granville and David Bluthenthal, who were key components of last
year's tournament run. All three fouled out in overtime.
"I feel bad for the fans," Clancy said. "I know they had high
expectations for us to do well in the tournament."
After dazzling USC with 52 percent shooting in the first half,
UNCW, a 10,599-student school from Michael Jordan's hometown of
Wilmington, N.C., made just one field goal in the final 9 1/2 minutes
of regulation.
But the Trojans were stymied offensively in overtime. Clancy,
who scored 21 points, missed three tries on USC's first possession,
then Craven missed a layup. The Trojans shot 43 percent for the
game.
"I felt like we had momentum coming into overtime," Granville
said. "We missed easy buckets and free throws in overtime that
could've maintained the momentum and put us over the top. We didn't
make the plays down the stretch."
Blizzard got UNCW going with a three-point play for an 83-80
lead. Craven tied it with a three-point play, but Clancy missed and
then a rebound slipped out of Jerry Dupree's hands.
Blizzard saw the frustration in the eyes of USC's players.
"I knew we had them on the ropes," he said.
UNCW's Stewart Hare scored four points, including an emphatic
dunk, in the final 45 seconds of overtime.
"Everybody had confidence and made the right plays," Blizzard
said.
Desmon Farmer drew USC to 91-89 on a 3-pointer with 3 seconds
left in overtime, but Blizzard got fouled and made both free throws
to end it. Farmer finished with 20 points, and Bluthenthal added
19.
The Seahawks (23-9), whose victories are a school record,
knocked down uncontested shots from all over the court. Craig
Callahan scored 18 points before fouling out in regulation.
"It seemed like there was a point in the game where everyone
was hitting shots," Clancy said.
UNCW came in holding opponents to 40 percent field-goal
shooting. The Seahawks, who've won five in a row and 11 of their
last 13, got off to dominating starts in both halves, and left USC
scrambling.
The Trojans hit just 35 percent in the first half, when they
trailed by nine. Four minutes into the second half, USC trailed by
19 -- its largest deficit of the game.
USC earned its highest seeding this year, a reward for finishing
tied for second in the Pac-10 Conference and for reaching the
conference tournament final, where it lost to Arizona.
But the smothering defense the Trojans played so effectively
against Arizona was nowhere to be seen Thursday.
"It was our fourth game in seven days," Bibby said. "It took
us a while to get into the game. The Pac-10 tourney took an edge
off of us."
It was USC's sixth first-round tournament exit and first since
1997, when the Trojans lost to Illinois 90-77.
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