USC
California
Trojans Bury Bears 70-60
February 21, 2004 | Men's Basketball
Feb 21, 2004
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Freshman Lodrick Stewart came off the bench to score a season-high 20 points in leading USC to a 70-60 victory over California on Saturday.
Rory O'Neil added 16 points, 12 rebounds and six blocks for the Trojans (11-13, 6-9 Pacific 10 Conference), who had lost seven of nine going into the game.
Desmon Farmer scored eight points to move into fourth place on USC's all-time scoring list. Farmer has 1,525 points in his four-year career.
Stewart made his first five shots from 3-point range as the Trojans went 10-for-23 from beyond the 3-point line for the game.
The victory gives USC a half-game lead over Washington State for the eighth and final berth in the conference tournament. The Trojans have three conference games left and Washington State has four remaining.
Amit Tamir scored 20 points for the Golden Bears (11-12, 7-7), who have lost three in a row after winning five of their previous six.
California held a 39-37 lead when the Trojans used a 9-0 spurt to move ahead 46-39 with 12:30 to play. Errick Craven scored four points and made a steal that led to another three points during the run.
The Bears narrowed the deficit to 51-48, but USC responded with a 13-2 run that extended the lead to 64-50 with 4:02 left. California failed to score for a span of 3:51.
Tamir scored six points as California took an early 11-3 lead. USC used an 11-0 run to move ahead 17-14 with 10:15 left in the first half but the Bears rallied for a 32-30 halftime lead.
