2002-03-15 04:00:00 PDT Sacramento -- So much for USC making another stirring ride deep into the NCAA Tournament. So much for all those proclamations that the Trojans could threaten mighty Duke in the Sweet 16.

North Carolina Wilmington, of all schools, got in the way.

In one of those utterly cool tournament tales, unheralded UNC Wilmington eliminated USC last night at Arco Arena. The Seahawks blew a 19-point, second- half lead, then recovered in overtime for a stunning 93-89 victory.

UNC Wilmington will meet Indiana in a second-round South Regional game tomorrow. The Hoosiers pounded Utah 75-56 in last night's late game.

Stunning? This was only the second NCAA Tournament game in UNC Wilmington history. Two years ago, in losing to Cincinnati, the Seahawks acted like awestruck newcomers on their brief trip to Nashville.

"We came here with the right attitude," guard Brett Blizzard said last night. "We didn't come with our cameras, like we did last time."

Stunning? UNC Wilmington attracts scant attention playing in the heart of ACC country. The city of Wilmington's biggest claim to fame: Michael Jordan grew up there. When the Seahawks made the NCAA Tournament in 2000, the airplane sent to pick them up mistakenly went to the wrong Wilmington.

"I think people will know Wilmington is in North Carolina now, not in Delaware," Blizzard said.

The Seahawks, seeded No. 13 in the South, toppled USC (seeded No. 4) despite an epic collapse. They built a 68-49 lead by calmly and shrewdly breaking USC's full-court press -- passing the ball to the middle, seldom dribbling, setting up open shots.

Then, in the final 9 minutes of the second half, UNC Wilmington suddenly became panicky, dribbling too much and making terrible passes. The Trojans pounced, creating turnovers and quickly slicing their deficit to 68-58.

USC kept chipping away. Finally, after UNC Wilmington's Tim Burnette missed the second of two free throws with 22 seconds left, the Trojans charged downcourt trailing by only three points.

Brandon Granville drove the lane and kicked the ball to Errick Craven -- who stood alone behind the 3-point line. Craven buried the shot with 7.9 seconds left, pulling USC into an 80-80 tie and sending the game into overtime.

That's when UNC Wilmington regained its composure and took better shots. None was bigger than forward Stewart Hare's emphatic, high-flying dunk with 45 seconds left, which gave the Seahawks a four-point lead.

"The lane parted like the Red Sea," Hare said, "and I just went for it."

As the Seahawks rejoiced, USC sagged. The Trojans surged into the tournament, beating Stanford and Oregon to reach the championship game of the Pac-10 tournament.

But USC looked weary down the stretch last night, after again leaning on its press. The Trojans made only 19 of 31 free throws in the second half and shot 2 of 9 from the field in overtime.

USC coach Henry Bibby suggested the Trojans were not as good as everyone thought.

"The Pac-10 tournament took a little edge off us," Bibby said. "This was our fourth game in seven days. That's one of the drawbacks of the Pac-10 tournament."

Granville and other USC players said they did not get tired. Sam Clancy (21 points), who played the whole way until he fouled out with two seconds left, certainly looked tired; he held his head in his hands afterward, a picture of dejection.

"I'll try to put this one behind me," Clancy said, "but I don't know if I can."

In the late game, the Hoosiers seized an early lead and never let Utah into the game. Indiana had wobbled into the tournament, losing four of its last 10 games, including a defeat to Iowa in the Big Ten tournament.

But the Hoosiers were steady in dispatching Utah. Tom Coverdale scored 19 points and Jeff Newton added 15 for Indiana, which shot 55 percent. Phil Cullen led the Utes with 25 points.

Now an unlikely obstacle stands in the way of Indiana's first trip to the Sweet 16 since 1994 -- North Carolina Wilmington, a school only the most ardent college hoops fans knew about before last night. USC knows now.