The Blazers erased a five-point second half deficit by relying on a relentless defense that collected 12 steals and forced 26 Clemson turnovers.

"It was a tale of two halves," UAB head coach Mike Anderson said. "The second half, we pretty much dictated tempo and got into our pressure defense. When we're playing that way, we're a pretty good basketball team."

The Blazers improved to 6-2 and advanced to today's first semifinal game against Southern California at 5 p.m. Clemson had a five-game winning streak snapped and dropped to 7-2.

USC defeated Indiana State, 68-64, in last night's final game.

Donell Taylor, a 6-6 senior guard, scored a career-high 26 points, and his twin brother, Ronell, added 13 to lead UAB. Reserves Demario Eddins and Marvett McDonald contributed 12 points each.

"The first game of the tournament is always important," Donell Taylor said. "You have to set an example for the other teams in the tournament to let them know that you're for real."

The Tigers were out to prove the same thing, and controlled most of the first half. Clemson's Cliff Hammonds drained two 3-pointers to highlight a 15-3 surge that gave the Tigers a 37-33 lead at intermission.

Sharrod Ford, a 6-9 forward, had 12 points and nine rebounds in the first half to lead the Tigers to a 26-9 advantage in rebounding in the first half.

"First half, they completely dominated the boards," Anderson said. "But then we were able to get the game going to the tempo we like."

The Blazers' full-court defense forced 14 turnovers in the second half, leading to several layups and dunks and a 60 percent field goal percentage after intermission.

"We were having trouble advancing the basketball and they're so quick, they get their hands on so many balls," Clemson coach Oliver Purnell said.

Southern California's Derrick Craven ducks under Indiana State's Jerod Adler for a reverse layup in the second half. USC won, 68-64.

Clemson never got closer than six the rest of the way. Hammonds led the Tigers with 22 points, including five 3-pointers. Ford had 16 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Tigers to a 44-22 rebounding advantage.

The UAB football team and several hundred Blazer fans are also in Honolulu this week for Friday's Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl.

"There's excitement about UAB, period," Anderson said. "It's like a little snowball that's rolling, and now everybody is aware of UAB."

USC fends off Indiana State, 68-64

USC's fast start proved to be enough in a 68-64 victory over Indiana State in a first-round game of the 41st annual Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic last night.

The Trojans opened the game with a 21-9 lead, and increased it to 41-21 by halftime.

Indiana State made it interesting late in the game, cutting the USC lead to 60-55 on a 3-pointer by Logan Whitman with 3:48 remaining.

USC's Gabriel Pruitt made 3 of 4 free throws in the final 15 seconds to help secure the win. He finished with 16 points and seven rebounds. Gregg Guenther added 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Lodrick Stewart had 11 for the Trojans, who improved to 5-3.

Eric Gray scored 13 and David Moss added 11 for the Sycamores, who dropped to 5-4.

USC will take on UAB in today's first semifinal at 5 p.m. Indiana State will play Clemson in a consolation game at 1:30 p.m.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 68, INDIANA ST. 64

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA (5-3)

Young 4-7 0-0 8, Curtis 0-2 0-0 0, Stewart 3-9 3-3 11, O'Neil 3-5 0-1 8, Pruitt 4-8 7-8 16, Guenther 5-9 4-4 14, McMillan 4-8 1-5 9, Shackleford 0-3 0-0 0, E.Craven 0-3 0-0 0, D.Craven 1-4 0-0 2. Totals 24-58 15-21 68.

INDIANA ST. (5-4)

Moore 3-5 2-3 9, Daanish 3-5 0-0 10, Gray 2-10 9-9 13, Moss 3-13 4-4 11, Adler 3-10 1-3 8, Booe 0-2 1-2 1, Trudeau 1-2 3-4 6, Whitman 2-4 0-0 6, Yelovich 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 17-53 24-33 64.

Halftime—USC 41, Indiana St. 21. 3-Point goals—USC 5-16 (Young 0-2, Stewart 2-4, O'Neil 2-2, Pruitt 1-2, Guenther 0-1, Shackleford 0-2, E.Craven 0-2, D.Craven 0-1, Indiana St. 6-19 (Moore 1-1, Gray 0-3, Moss 1-4, Adler 1-4, Booe 0-2, Trudeau 1-1, Whitman 2-4). Fouled out—Steward, Whitman. Rebounds—USC 37 (Guenther 10), Indiana St. 36 (Adler 11). Assists—USC 11 (McMillan 4), Indiana St. 11 (Moore 4). Total fouls—USC 25, Indiana St. 20. Technicals—Young, D.Craven, Daanish.

ALABAMA-BIRMINGHAM 78, CLEMSON 66

ALABAMA-BIRMINGHAM (6-2)

Johnson 0-3 0-2 0, D.Taylor 9-13 7-7 26, R.Taylor 6-12 1-2 13, Lewis 2-3 1-2 5, Eddins 2-5 8-8 12, Delaney 0-0 0-0 0, McDonald 5-11 0-0 12, Holmes 0-0 0-0 0, Little 3-4 1-1 7, Jones 0-0 0-0 0, Broom 1-3 0-0 3, Tobias 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-54 18-22 78.

CLEMSON (7-2)

Ford 8-12 0-2 16, Moore 0-2 0-0 0, Robinson 1-13 0-0 2, Hammonds 7-12 3-4 22, Akingbala 2-4 3-4 7, Price 1-1 0-0 0, Hamilton 3-6 0-0 6, Babalola 2-5 1-3 5, Hudson 0-0 0-0 0, Morris 0-0 0-0 0, Perry 1-3 0-1 2, Mays 2-4 0-0 4. Totals 27-62 7-14 66.

Halftime—Clemson 37, UAB 33. 3-Point goals—UAB 4-16 (Johnson 0-1, D.Taylor 1-2, R.Taylor 0-3, McDonald 2-8, Broom 1-2), Clemson 5-19 (Moore 0-1, Robinson 0-7, Hammonds 5-8, Hamilton 0-1, Babalola 0-2). Fouled out—None. Rebounds—UAB 22 (Eddins 6), Clemson 44 (Ford 13). Assists—UAB 12 (Johnson, R.Taylor 3), Clemson 9 (Ford, Robinson, Hamilton 2). Total fouls—UAB 20, Clemson 17.