INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Freshman Errick Craven scored seven of his 13 points in the final 3:18 and Southern California upset No. 11 UCLA 81-77 last night to take sole possession of first place in the Pac-10.

The Trojans (13-2, 5-0) won their ninth game in a row and are off to their best start since 1975. Coach Henry Bibby improved to 2-9 against his alma mater, where he starred on three national championship teams.

At the buzzer, screaming, dancing fans mobbed center court at the Forum to celebrate the end of USC's three-game losing skid against its crosstown rival.

The Bruins (11-3, 4-1) had their nine-game winning streak snapped in front of a rowdy, pro-USC crowd. The game was moved to the Forum from the Trojans' usual home court at the Los Angeles Sports Arena, which is being used as a practice rink for the U.S. Figure Skating Championships.

After UCLA's Rico Hines tied the game at 64, Craven scored seven in a row to put USC ahead for good, 71-66, with 2:14 remaining.

The Bruins fought back with 3-pointers by Matt Barnes, Billy Knight and Jason Kapono, but were hurt by key errors. Knight was called for traveling, Hines committed an intentional foul and Barnes tossed a bad pass.

Barnes led UCLA with career-highs of 34 points and seven 3-pointers, including three in the final 4:56. The Bruins had won 13 of the previous 14 meetings.

Sam Clancy led USC with 19 points, Brandon Granville added 18, including 3-of-4 free throws in the final 17.9 seconds, and David Bluthenthal had 16.

The Trojans maintained their eight-point halftime lead for the first five minutes of the second half.

Then UCLA outscored USC 11-5, getting three consecutive 3-pointers, to cut its deficit to 52-50 with 12:03 remaining. Although the Bruins tied the game twice, they never led in the second half.