Feb. 18, 1998

LOS ANGELES (AP) - The post-Jelani McCoy era at UCLA began successfully Wednesday night, albeit barely.

J.R. Henderson scored seven of his 20 points in overtime and Kris Johnson added 19 as the 12th-ranked Bruins beat Southern California 82-75 after blowing a 10-point lead in the final 8 1/2 minutes of the second half.

It was UCLA's first game since McCoy, a 6-foot-10 junior who helped the Bruins win Pac-10 championships the last two years, resigned from the program, citing media scrutiny and pressure. It had been speculated for several weeks that McCoy's days on the team were numbered for reportedly violating the school's drug policy.

UCLA's second game without McCoy figures to be much more difficult - the Bruins face No. 2 Duke at the Cameron Indoor Stadium on Sunday.

The Bruins led 66-60 when the Trojans scored 10 straight points - including five by Kevin Augustine and four by Jarvis Turner - to take a four-point lead with 1:15 remaining in regulation. Augustine, a freshman, completed the spurt with a 3-point shot.

But the Bruins tied the game on two free throws by Toby Bailey with 1:04 left and a tip-in by Bailey with 28.6 seconds to go to force the overtime.

Augustine had the ball batted away as he tried to take a potential game-winning shot, and it bounced to Adam Spanich, who missed a 3-pointer as time ran out.

A free throw by Johnson with 1:06 elapsed in overtime put the Bruins (20-5, 10-4 Pac-10) ahead to stay. UCLA scored the game's last five points - three by Henderson and two by Bailey, who finished with 17 points for the Bruins .

Gary Johnson led USC (7-17, 3-11) with 19 points - all but four after halftime. Turner added 17 points for the Trojans.