By Jon Cooper

The inaugural Anaheim Classic (which later became the 76 Classic) brought together Ohio’s Miami University (MAC), Mississippi State (SEC), San Diego (WCC), South Alabama (Sun Belt), Southern Illinois (Missouri Valley), UT-Chattanooga (Southern), UC Irvine (Big West) and *USC (PAC-10). It also attracted a throng of curious fans and NBA scouts, all eager to get a look at Southern Cal's much ballyhooed freshman, O.J. Mayo. While Trojans coach Tim Floyd raised some eyebrows by choosing not to start Mayo for the championship game, he also might have been on to something, as this tournament was so much more than one player. The three-day event offered heart-stopping drama and some first-class basketball by eight hungry teams. In the end Mayo didn't disappoint, and was out there holding the championship and Most Outstanding Player trophies aloft, as he and the Trojans brought home a resounding victory over Southern Illinois. Here's a rundown of the eight teams and their three days of California hoop dreaming.

MIAMI (2-1)
Nickname: RedHawks
Conference: Mid-American
Location: Oxford, Ohio

The RedHawks rode the hot hand of Michael Bramos and the rebounding of forward Tim Pollitz to edge South Alabama 64-59 in their opener. Bramos scored a career-high 28 points, including 23 of the team’s 34 second-half points. Pollitz added 15, with 16 boards, six on the offensive end (both game-highs). A 14-4 second-half run, sparked by Bramos, who had 12 in the run, broke open the game. Miami held a 40-29 rebounding edge, with 13 offensive boards. In their next game, Pollitz scored a game-high-tying 21, but Miami fell to USC, 57-53. The RedHawks shot 57 percent in the first half and led 33-29 at halftime, but shot only 27.3 percent (25 percent from three) in the second. Pollitz and Bramos, who added 12 points, combined to shoot 13-for-21; the rest of the team made only 7 of 26 shots. In their finale, Miami blew a pair of 12-point leads but hung on to beat Mississippi State, 67-60. Bramos had a career-high 30, Pollitz added 15 (all in the second half), and center Tyler Dierkers contributed seven points, nine rebounds and 10 assists. Bramos (23.3 ppg, 51 percent shooting) and Pollitz (17 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 56.2 percent) were named to the All-Tournament team.

MISSISSIPPI STATE (1-2)
Nickname: Bulldogs
Conference: Southeastern
Location: Starkville, Miss.

The Bulldogs started impressively, knocking off UC Irvine 68-53. Guards Jamont Gordon and Barry Stewart combined for 22 points as MSU shot a blazing 57.7 percent in the first half and took a 41-34 halftime lead. In the second half, Mississippi State limited the Anteaters to 25 percent shooting (1-for-10 from three). Stewart scored a game-high-tying 18, Gordon had 15, and forward Charles Rhodes chipped in with 11 and a game-high 11 rebounds. Against Southern Illinois in their next game, Gordon scored a team-high 20, but only five in the second half, and the Bulldogs were doomed by 12 second-half turnovers, losing 63-49. State led by as much as five in a first half, but fell victim to a 12-2 run, committing four turnovers. They fell behind by 10, and never got closer than five. MSU ended the tournament by dropping a 67-60 decision to Miami. After rallying from 12 down, State, which shot only 18.8 percent from three, gave up a game-closing 15-4 run. Rhodes shot 11-for-15 and scored a team-high 25 points, with 10 rebounds. Gordon added 18, despite 0-for-5 three-point shooting, and was named to the All-Tournament Team. In three games, he averaged 17.7 points and 5.3 rebounds.

SAN DIEGO (1-2)
Nickname: Toreros
Conference: West Coast
Location: San Diego

The Toreros gave USC all it could handle in its opener before falling 60-50. Despite shooting 33.3 percent, and going 1-for-8 from three, USD cut a 10-point deficit to four with 4:39 remaining. Brandon Johnson scored a team-high 19 and doled out four assists, while Gyno Pomare grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds. Poor first-half shooting hurt the Toreros again in their next game, a 77-55 loss to South Alabama. Playing its fourth game in seven days, USD shot only 21.7 percent in the first half, and fell behind by as much as 21. They drew to within 10, but got no closer. Johnson had a team-high 17 and Pomare added 11. After a much-needed off-day, USD salvaged their finale, beating UC Irvine, 60-57. Pomare led the way with 16, Jones chipped in with 14, and Ray Murdock added 14 and six rebounds. The Toreros nearly squandered a 54-47 lead in the final minute, but Murdock and Johnson went 6-for-6 from the line to hold off Irvine. USD made 19 of 21 second-half free throws and converted 23 of 26 for the game.

SOUTH ALABAMA (2-1)
Nickname: Jaguars
Conference: Sun Belt
Location: Mobile, Ala.

South Alabama couldn’t survive an off-night from top scorer Demetric Bennett (3-of-14, eight points), losing to Miami (Ohio), 64-59. Brandon Davis scored a team-high 13, and Daon Merritt added 10 for the Jaguars. Down 15 with 5:36 left, USA staged a furious 13-2 run to get within four with 28 seconds left, but fell short. The Jags hurt themselves, shooting 8-for-21 from the free-throw line. Bennett and USA bounced back against San Diego, routing the Toreros 77-55. The Jaguars used a pair of 10-0 runs to open a 36-20 halftime lead, and a 19-10 second-half run opened a 22-point bulge. The Jags shot 53.6 percent, while holding USD to 21.7 percent, and out-rebounded USD 38-21. Bennett scored a season-high 28 points, shooting 6-for-12, 4-for-5 from three and 12-for-15 from the line. Domonic Tilford added 19 and Davis had 15. In their finale, the Jags raced out to a 21-6 lead and cruised past Chattanooga, 84-67. Tilford scored a career-best 26, and Bennett added 21, 18 in the decisive first half. USA, which led 49-33 at the break and ran the lead to 30, nailed 11 of 25 threes, while holding Chattanooga 14 points below their season average.

SOUTHERN ILLINOIS (2-1)
Nickname: Salukis
Conference: Missouri Valley
Location: Carbondale, Ill.

The 18th-ranked Salukis rolled over Chattanooga, 63-41, behind Randal Falker's 21 points. Falker, a career 54 percent foul shooter, made 11 of 14 from the line. SIU’s trapping defense held the Mocs below 30 percent shooting and forced 26 turnovers. The Salukis led 27-19 at the half and expanded the lead to 27. The trap would ensnare Mississippi State in the next game, forcing 21 turnovers in their 63-49 victory. The Salukis used a 17-2 run late in the first half to open a 32-28 halftime lead, and pulled away in the second half. The inside-outside combination of Falker and Joshua Bone proved lethal. Falker scored a game-high 23 on 7-for-9 shooting, adding 9-for-10 from the foul line, while Bone had 15 on 5-for-6 shooting, all from three. In the championship game, Southern Illinois went cold, shooting 32.7 percent and losing to Southern California 70-45. Falker led with 17, on 6-for-9 shooting (he added 12 rebounds), but the rest of the Salukis combined to go 10-for-30, and they never got closer than seven early in the second half. Falker averaged 20.3 points on 64.3 percent shooting (18-for-28) with 7.7 rebounds to earn a spot on the All-Tournament team.

TENNESSEE-CHATTANOOGA (1-2)
Nickname: Mocs
Conference: Southern
Location: Chattanooga, Tenn.

Chattanooga was held to its lowest point total in a decade in their 63-41 tournament-opening loss to 18th-ranked Southern Illinois. Stephen McDowell had a team-high 13 points and five rebounds for the Mocs, whose final lead was 16-15 with 5:49 left in the first half. The Mocs shot only 11-for-37 (29.7 percent), 5-for-22 (22.7) from three, and hurt themselves, committing 26 turnovers. UTC heated up in their next game, shooting 60.4 percent in their 85-80 win over UC Irvine. McDowell scored a game-high 26 points—18 in the second half—on 10-for-14 shooting (5-for-8 from three). Chattanooga shot 66.7 percent in the final 20 minutes and used an 18-2 run to overcome a 12-point deficit. Kevin Bridgewater added 17 and Nicchaeus Doaks scored 12 with a game-high six rebounds and four assists. In their finale, the Mocs fell behind 21-6 and never caught up, dropping an 84-67 decision to South Alabama. Doaks had 19 points and six rebounds, while McDowell added 14 for the Mocs, who shot only 61.3 percent from the foul line (19-for-31) and played without Bridgewater, who missed the game with a leg injury.

UC IRVINE (0-3)
Nickname: Anteaters
Conference: Big West
Location: Irvine, Calif.

The Anteaters shot only 25 percent in the second half, and fell 68-53 to Mississippi State in their opener. Patrick Sanders had 18 for UCI, including 11 of the team's 19 second-half points. Darren Fells added 15 and guard Chuma Awaji had 13 on 6-for-8 shooting. Irvine trailed 45-40 early in the second half but made only six second-half field goals and shot 1-for-10 from three. Sanders scored 21 in the next game, but UCI squandered four 12-point leads in losing 85-80 to Chattanooga. Sanders scored 15 first-half points as the Mocs carried a 46-39 lead into the locker room. Trey Harris added a career-high 16, including 4-for-7 from three, and Fells had 13, as the Anteaters shot 56 percent. But they were undone by 21 turnovers. Twelve came in the second half and were turned into 16 points. Awaji’s three-point play with 8:59 left extended Irvine's lead to 71-59, but the Mocs went on a 15-2 run to take the lead for good. In a battle of winless teams, UCI dropped its finale, 60-57, to San Diego. Awaji had 16 and Sanders added 13 for the Anteaters, who trailed by 10 with 5:51 left and drew within one with 12.5 seconds left.

*SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA (3-0 | Champions)
Nickname: Trojans
Conference: Pac-10
Location: Los Angeles

The 22nd-ranked Trojans got 20 points apiece from freshman O.J. Mayo and sophomore Taj Gibson to dispatch scrappy San Diego, 60-50, in its tournament opener. USC, which shot 50 percent but only 47.7 from the line (13-for-22), led by 10 at the half and nearly let an 11-point lead disappear, but Mayo had seven points in a late 11-6 run. Gibson had a game-high 12 rebounds. Playing in front of football coach Pete Carroll, Southern Cal came from six down to defeat Miami, 57-53. Mayo, who played 40 minutes and scored a game-high-tying 21 points, and Daniel Hackett, who added 11 points, combined for 13 points in a decisive 16-8 run over the final five minutes. The game had four ties over the final 13 minutes and neither team led by more than four. In the tournament championship game, freshman Davon Jefferson, making his first start of the season, scored a game-high 20, and USC rolled over 18th-ranked Southern Illinois, 70-45. Tim Floyd chose not to start Mayo or Gibson, and the Salukis led early, but once the duo entered USC went on a 27-10 run to take a 35-23 halftime lead. Another 15-0 run opened up a 61-37 lead, and USC cruised home. Mayo was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament, averaging 18 points and 3.7 rebounds.

University of Maryland alum Jon Cooper is an Atlanta-based freelance writer.

*USC vacated all its wins (21) during the 2007-2008 regular season, along with its post-season appearance, due to an NCAA penalty.