CAL TAKEN DEEP BEARS HIT THE WALL WHEN USC RALLIES By JOHN AKERS Mercury News Staff Writer LOS ANGELES -- In the blink of Burt Harris' game-tying shot, all perspective on Cal's season changed. The season certainly isn't ruined, because the Bears were on too good a run to allow an 86-78 overtime loss Saturday to Southern Cal to destroy them. Just changed. The No. 17 Bears (19-6, 10-4 in the Pacific 10 Conference) are 1 1/2 games out of the Pac-10 lead and no longer have the inside track on being invited to the NCAA Western sub- regional in Sacramento. And this seven-man team was reminded that it's as vulnerable as it is dangerous. The Bears allowed the Trojans (13-11, 6-9) to come back from a 55-41 deficit with 7 minutes, 27 seconds left, much as they nearly lost Thursday when No. 15 UCLA cut a 86-71 Cal lead with 3:02 left to one point before falling 92-88. Cal outscored the Trojans 22-2 during a first-half stretch and led 33-22 at halftime. But Harris, USC's 5-foot-10 stump of a point guard, brought the Trojans back by scoring 14 of his 23 points in the final seven minutes of regulation. Harris hit a three-pointer with nine seconds left, pulling USC to within 67-66. Cal's Jason Kidd was fouled immediately and made both free throws to put Cal ahead 69-66. USC put the ball in Harris' hands for most of the final eight seconds. He was stalled in the USC backcourt, looking for a pick to free one of his teammates. That didn't happen, so he dribbled up court, looking for his own shot. ''I'm kind of quick, so I was scattering around, looking for a play,'' Harris said. ''I guess they expected me to take it deeper, but I looked at the clock and decided I better let it go.'' Anwar McQueen, Harris' defender, slipped, but Lamond Murray, who had blocked a last-second shot by Harris in the game at Cal last season, was approaching. ''So I said, 'I better let it go now,' '' Harris said. The shot swished at the buzzer, sending the game into overtime at 69-69. Cal might have prevented the overtime by fouling Harris as he was stalled in the backcourt -- forcing him to settle for two free throws and preventing the three-point shot -- but Coach Todd Bozeman decided against it, fearing USC would rebound a missed second shot and tie the score on a put-back. ''We thought about it. Didn't do it,'' Bozeman said. ''There are times you make a split-second decision. You have to go with your gut. I went with my gut.'' In overtime, the Trojans took advantage of the Bears' foul problems and their lack of depth. The Bears also were hurting. Kidd jammed his big toe on a rebound with seven minutes remaining but continued to play. He said it isn't serious. Jamison suffered a concussion in the second half but also returned for the overtime. He remained overnight in Los Angeles with his parents. The Trojans ran a play at Murray, who fouled out just 54 seconds into the overtime period. Then they went at Michael Stewart, who fouled out, and Jamison, who also fouled out forcing Cal to play walk-on Olatunji Bean the final 20 seconds. The fifth foul on Murray, who scored 22 points, was particularly damaging, reducing Cal's offense to Kidd's missed three-pointers. ''(Murray) can run off 10 points in five minutes,'' Harris said. ''Without him, I don't think they have a go-to man. Jason has to create his own shots.'' The Trojans, held to 44 points over the first 33 minutes, scored 42 in the final 12. They scored on 23 of their final 25 possessions. The Sports Arena also was the scene of a bizarre Cal loss to the Trojans last season. Phil Glenn was fouled by Jerod Haase with a fraction of a second remaining and made the free throws for the 67-65 victory. At that time, the Bears were struggling to get into the NCAA tournament picture. This time, there's no danger of that happening. ''We're playing for a much bigger prize, a much bigger prize,'' Bozeman said. ''Fortunately, a loss doesn't kill our season.''