USC
Stanford
Trojans Edged By No. 1 Stanford
February 19, 2004 | Men's Basketball
By BETH HARRIS
AP Sports Writer
LOS ANGELES - Stanford survived another threat to its perfect season.
Josh Childress scored a career-high 36 points and the top-ranked Cardinal rallied from a 13-point first-half deficit to beat Southern California 76-67 Thursday night for its school-record 22nd consecutive victory.
Stanford (13-0) clinched a share of its fourth Pac-10 title in six years with three weeks remaining in the regular season.
But perfection has been harder to maintain recently. The Cardinal came from 19 points down and won at Oregon on Jan. 31, then Nick Robinson hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to hold off Arizona on Feb. 7.
USC (10-13, 5-9) threatened until the final minutes after Stanford blew an 11-point lead in the second half. The Trojans tied it for the final time at 65 on a basket by Jeff McMillan.
But Childress hit a 3-pointer and scored another basket for a 70-65 lead. The Trojans, who had been solid from the free-throw line earlier in the game, made just 2-of-5 in the final 1:15 when they trailed by three.
After that, Stanford scored the game's final six points to end USC's upset hopes.
Rob Little added 20 points for Stanford.
McMillan led USC with 21 points - one off his career high. Rory O'Neil added 14, and Desmon Farmer scored 11, all in the first half when he carried the Trojans.
The Trojans (10-13, 5-9) have lost seven of their last nine games.
USC started the game strongly, playing aggressive defense and getting hands in the faces of Stanford's shooters. Childress was the Cardinal's only offensive threat in the first half, when he had 18 points.
Stanford trailed 36-28 at halftime, a virtual repeat of the teams' Jan. 24 meeting, when the Trojans led by six at the break in Palo Alto.
Just like in that game, the Cardinal dominated the start of the second half. Stanford outscored USC 27-8 to take a 55-44 lead with 10:48 remaining. Matt Lottich had 12 points and Stanford twice scored off consecutive USC turnovers.
But the Trojans weren't done yet.
They used a 16-5 spurt to tie the game at 60 with 5:16 left. O'Neil scored nine points and had two big blocks.
Stanford didn't waver, getting a 3-pointer by Lottich on an offensive rebound while the Trojans' shooting went cold.
USC started the game by running off nine straight points for an 18-7 lead. Stanford answered with a 12-2 run which ended when USC coach Henry Bibby was called for a technical. Lottich made both free throws and Stanford trailed 20-19.
USC closed the half with a 17-9 spurt to lead 36-28 at the break. A 3-pointer by O'Neil gave the Trojans their largest lead of 13 points during the run. USC scored 14 points off Stanford's eight turnovers in the half.
Stanford senior Justin Davis missed his fifth straight game because of a left knee injury.
