USC Basketball Falls to Stanford, 59-47

The Trojans continued their trouble in the rebounding department, getting out-boarded 44-18 on their way to a 12-point loss to Stanford. USC cut a second half Stanford lead to just two, but the Cardinal answered with a 24-6 run to put the game away, winning 59-47 at the Galen Center.

Feb 12, 2012, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Southern California Trojans guard Maurice Jones (10) is defended by Stanford Cardinal forward Josh Owens (13) and guard Chasson Randle (5) at the Galen Center. Stanford defeated USC 59-47. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE

Once again, it came down to scoring and rebounding for USC. At one point, the Trojans went five minutes without a point, not scoring their first points of the second half until James Blasczyk made the second of two free throws with 15:57 left in the game, to make it 28-19, after Stanford scored the first eight points of the half. The Trojans had just one offensive rebound in the entire game, while Stanford had 12. USC just couldn’t answer forwards Andrew Zimmerman and Dwight Powell, who had 14 boards between them.

The Trojans made a game of it briefly in the second half, snapping their five minute scoreless streak with a 15-7 run over the course of four minutes to cut Stanford’s lead to 35-33. But after Maurice Jones put home a layup with 11:29 left, Stanford dominated the game, scoring the next 11 points. Chasson Randle was a huge cog in the Stanford offense with 16 points, and his three pointer with just over three minutes left in the game put the Cardinal up 20, 59-30 to end Stanford’s night in the box score.

James Blasczyk struggled in the paint, scoring just one point and grabbing just three rebounds, as only Garrett Jackson(6) had more than three boards for the Trojans. Maurice Jones was again USC’s best player, showing glimpses during the team’s 15-7 run why he’s the most talent player in Kevin O’Neill’s lineup. He drove to the hoop and drew fouls multiple times, but still could only muster 10 points for the Trojans, good for third on the team behind Byron Wesley and Greg Allen’s 13 apiece.

The loss was the Trojans’ 20th loss of the season to match Utah in the Pac-12 cellar. The bad news however, is that unless the Trojans go on a run to end the season, including a miraculous stretch of wins in the Pac-12 Tournament, they’ll finish with the worst record in USC Men’s Basketball history. So much for injuries, right?

Next up for USC is a Wednesday night trip across Exposition Boulevard to the old stomping grounds that is the LA Sports Arena, where they’ll

host

visit UCLA for the second final crosstown showdown of the year with Ben Howland’s Bruins. UCLA is 7-6 in the Pac-12 and are the outside looking in for March Madness.