USC
Stanford
No. 1 Stanford Edges No. 21 USC, 77-71
February 01, 2001 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 1, 2001
By GREG BEACHAM
AP Sports Writer
STANFORD, Calif. - In top-ranked Stanford's first big scare of the Pac-10 season, the Cardinal's perfect record wasn't safe until the final seconds.
Casey Jacobsen scored 22 points and Michael McDonald hit the last of his six 3-pointers with 50 seconds left as the Cardinal rallied from a halftime deficit to beat No. 21 Southern California 77-71 on Thursday night.
Jason Collins had 20 points and six rebounds as Stanford (20-0, 8-0) kept alive its school-record winning streak, even though the Cardinal didn't take the lead for good until 6:13 remained.
Brian Scalabrine scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half as the fired-up Trojans never allowed Stanford to pull away. Southern California led by four with seven minutes left, but consecutive dramatic 3-pointers by Jacobsen and McDonald turned the game around.
Jacobsen, held in check by 5-foot-9 Brandon Granville during the first half, scored 18 points in the second half. Collins scored six straight points during a critical late-game stretch, while his twin brother Jarron hit two clinching free throws with 13 seconds left.
Southern California (15-5, 5-3), the first ranked team to visit Maples Pavilion this season, was looking for its first win over a top-ranked team since March 6, 1970. In a game that wasn't broadcast on television in Los Angeles or anywhere outside the Bay Area, the Trojans came close to pulling a huge upset.
David Bluthenthal and Sam Clancy scored 15 points apiece for the Trojans, who lost by 43 points at Maples last season. They led by seven midway through the first half and were up 34-31 at halftime thanks to 6-of-7 shooting on 3-pointers.
The Trojans also got a near-perfect half from Granville, who hit all three of his shots - including two 3-pointers - and had five assists in addition to his defensive contributions. In the second half, however, he managed just four points against McDonald's defense.
The key to the Cardinal's victory was McDonald, even though the conference's leader in assist-to-turnover ratio had just two assists and three turnovers. Dared to shoot by the Trojans, McDonald hit six of his nine 3-point attempts - all of them seemingly coming whenever the Trojans threatened to open a large lead.
Southern California's conference-best defense was in top form against the Cardinal, and Granville led the way. He's 9 inches shorter than the 6-foot-6 Jacobsen, but his relentless defense on Stanford's leading scorer kept the Trojans ahead early.
Jacobsen didn't get a shot until 6 1/2 minutes into the game, and he didn't score until a layup with 10:55 left in the first half. Granville didn't guard Jacobsen as much in the second half, but even with 2:30 left, he sent a message by undercutting Jacobsen as both players dove for a loose ball.
The Cardinal scored on their first seven possessions of the second half while making an 18-10 run. The Trojans replied with scoring from Scalabrine, who had foul trouble in the first half but went 7-of-12 from the field in the second.
Duke was the only other team to lead Stanford at halftime this season.
