SACRAMENTO, CALIF. ? “Dream big. Focus small” is North Carolina Wilmington’s slogan this season.

The 13th-seeded Seahawks did just that against Southern California, stunning the fourth-seeded Trojans 93-89 in overtime Thursday night in a first-round South Regional game.

North Carolina-Wilmington's Stewart Hare hangs on the rim after dunking to take the lead during overtime against Southern Cal. The Seahawks knocked the Trojans out of the NCAA Tournament with a 93-89 victory in their first-round game Thursday in Sacramento.

“Everybody doubts us except ourselves,” said UNCW’s Brett Blizzard, who scored 18 points. “We didn’t come here with our cameras like we did two years ago. We came with the right attitude. We didn’t just talk about it, we did it.”

The Trojans rallied from a 19-point deficit to force overtime, getting a 3-pointer from freshman Errick Craven with 8 seconds remaining to tie it at 80.

“When that ball went in to tie the game up, you have to ask yourself, ‘How bad do you want it?’ ” UNCW coach Jerry Wainwright said. “At a very deflating moment, they pulled together. They played great in overtime.”

In the 5-minute extra session, the Seahawks steadied themselves and outscored the Trojans 13-9 to earn their first NCAA tournament victory. UNCW lost to Cincinnati two years ago in its only other appearance.

“This goes back to how strong our will is,” Blizzard said. “Every team is going to make a run. You have to fight it off and come back with one of your own.”

Last year, USC (22-10) reached the final eight for the first time since 1954, and lost to eventual national champion Duke. Expectations were higher this year for a Final Four run.

“We were a good team, but probably not as good as everyone thought,” USC coach Henry Bibby said. “I didn’t think we executed when we needed to during the season. We covered up a lot of things with our defense. The press carried us all year and we tricked a lot of people.”

It was a bitter ending for USC seniors Sam Clancy, Brandon Granville and David Bluthenthal, who were key components of last year’s tournament run. All three fouled out in overtime.

“I feel bad for the fans,” Clancy said. “I know they had high expectations for us to do well in the tournament.”

After dazzling USC with 52 percent shooting in the first half, UNCW, a 10,599-student school from Michael Jordan’s hometown of Wilmington, N.C., made just one field goal in the final 9 1/2 minutes of regulation.

But the Trojans were stymied offensively in overtime. Clancy, who scored 21 points, missed three tries on USC’s first possession, then Craven missed a layup. The Trojans shot 43 percent for the game.

“I felt like we had momentum coming into overtime,” Granville said. “We missed easy buckets and free throws in overtime that could’ve maintained the momentum and put us over the top. We didn’t make the plays down the stretch.”

Blizzard got UNCW going with a three-point play for an 83-80 lead. Craven tied it with a three-point play, but Clancy missed and then a rebound slipped out of Jerry Dupree’s hands.

Blizzard saw the frustration in the eyes of USC’s players.

“I knew we had them on the ropes,” he said.

UNCW’s Stewart Hare scored four points, including an emphatic dunk, in the final 45 seconds of overtime.

“Everybody had confidence and made the right plays,” Blizzard said.

Desmon Farmer drew USC to 91-89 on a 3-pointer with 3 seconds left in overtime, but Blizzard got fouled and made both free throws to end it. Farmer finished with 20 points, and Bluthenthal added 19.

The Seahawks (23-9), whose victories are a school record, knocked down uncontested shots from all over the court. Craig Callahan scored 18 points before fouling out in regulation.

Wake Forest 83, Pepperdine 74

Sacramento, Calif. Craig Dawson’s first and last trip to the NCAA tournament isn’t over yet. The senior scored 19 points to lead seventh-seeded Wake Forest over Pepperdine. Dawson has waited four years to play in the tournament. Last season, he sat out with a shoulder injury from the week before in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament, and watched from the bench as the Demon Deacons were eliminated by Butler in the first round. Dawson hit two big 3-pointers early in the second half Thursday to put the Deacons (21-12) back in front when Pepperdine (22-9) twice held one-point leads. He punctuated the scoring on a dunk with 14.9 seconds remaining.

Oregon 81, Montana 62

Sacramento, Calif. For the first time since 1960, Oregon is sticking around for a second game in the NCAA tournament. Luke Ridnour and Luke Jackson scored 18 points apiece as the second-seeded Ducks overcame a slow start. Robert Johnson added 15 points and seven rebounds for the Ducks (24-8), who pushed their resurgent season to its highest point by advancing to face seventh-seeded Wake Forest on Saturday. Ryan Slider had 12 points for 15th-seeded Montana (16-15).

Indiana 75, Utah 56

Sacramento, Calif. Two recent trends of the NCAA tournament’s first round were broken at Arco Arena when Indiana beat Utah. Tom Coverdale had 19 points and eight rebounds, and Jeff Newton scored 15 points as the fifth-seeded Hoosiers won their first tournament game since Bob Knight’s departure. Indiana, making its 17th straight tournament appearance, had lost five of its previous seven first-round games, including surprising losses to low seeds Kent State and Pepperdine in the past two seasons. Meanwhile, Utah had never lost a first-round game under coach Rick Majerus.