After leading by as many as 13, the Stanford men’s basketball team pulled out a close 78-76 win against USC, avoiding its second consecutive loss after the Trojans went on a 10-1 run in the final five minutes of the game.
A jumper by fifth-year senior center Stefan Nastic with 5:23 left in the game put the Card ahead 77-66, but the team would not score again until Nastic’s free throw with one second left in the contest. During Stanford’s shooting drought, USC scored off layups, a dunk and free throws and came within one with 49 seconds left in the game.
After a missed shot by fifth-year senior guard Anthony Brown, USC gained possession of the ball and had the opportunity to win the game with 7.7 seconds left with the score at 77-76. But Stanford was able to force a turnover, and Nastic was fouled with 1.7 seconds remaining. He went 1-of-2 from the line on the one-and-one to push the Stanford lead to 78-76, and USC’s last-second heave went begging.
The Card’s scoring drought towards the end of the game did not reflect how the team shot for most of the matchup, especially in the first half. Johnny Dawkins’ squad shot an impressive 58.1 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes, including an impressive 9-of-13 clip from behind the arc.
Also in the first half, Stanford dished out 10 assists and outrebounded the Trojans 15-13. Brown and junior forward Rosco Allen had 13 points each, but the Cardinal allowed USC to hang around by committing twelve personal fouls, with USC covering 12 of 14 foul shots.
Taking into account Stanford’s unproductive end to the second half, Stanford ended the game shooting 46 percent from the field and 40 percent on three’s. Brown recorded his fourth double double of the season, tallying 21 points and 10 rebounds, while Allen had 18 points and was 4-of-8 from downtown.
Although USC drew within four at the beginning of the second half, Brown, Allen and freshman forward Michael Humphrey scored in quick succession to increase Stanford’s lead to 13 with 10:55 left in the game. USC’s run was also aided by fouls committed by Nastic, Humphrey and junior center Grant Verhoeven. USC went 19-of-24 from the free-throw line, points that clearly kept it in the game.
Julian Jacobs led USC with 16 points, while Jordan McLaughlin and Nikola Jovanovik scored 14 and 13, respectively.
Stanford will face Cal at Berkeley at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 14 before facing the defending national champions, the UConn Huskies, Saturday, Jan. 17 at 6 p.m. at Maples Pavilion.
Contact Alexa Philippou at aphil723 ‘at’ stanford.edu.