Jan. 8, 1998

Augustine's Big Block Lifts Trojans over Oregon

Los Angeles - USC guard Kevin Augustine blocked a 3-point shot by Oregon's Terik Brown with two seconds remaining to secure a 63-59 victory in the Trojans' Pac-10 home opener at the Sports Arena.

That game-saving defensive play and five clutch free throws by Gary Williams capped a come-from behind effort that snapped the Trojans' (5-8, 1-2) nagging seven-game losing streak.

In a rare start, Adam Spanich led USC with 15 points. Spanich hit back-to-back 3-pointers midway through the final period to spark a run of 13 straight points and the decisive rally.

Williams totaled 11 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.

Hustling USC defense held Oregon's (6-6 1-2) top two scorers, Henry Madden (14 point average) and Brown (12 ppg), to just 5 points each and limited the Ducks to just 32 percent shooting from the field.

The Men of Troy go after a weekend sweep of the Oregon schools Satruday at 1 p.m. against the Oregon State Beavers.

Quotes:

USC Coach Henry Bibby-"It's one of the ugliest games in my life. It's like starting over. Tonight is the first time we've had everybody together. It's like October again. "

On Augustine's last-second block- "He's very athletic. It's like a game-winning shot, except it's a game-winning block. He hustled to get there. Had they hit it, it would have broken my heart."

USC Guard Kevin Augstine- "I saw Madden had a wide-open look. I had to get a hand on it or get the block. I got enough that there wasn't a chance it would get to the rim. That was an ugly win, yes it was."

Notes: Talented forward Jarvis Turner played for the first time since breaking his right hand and missing 6 games. He totaled 4 points and 4 rebounds in 12 minutes.

But while the team's top big man returned, sharp-shooting Larry Ayuso re-aggraved an ankle sprain and left the game early in the second half without scoring a point.