| HeraldNet - Snohomish County's online news source |
 SUNDAY, MARCH 14, 2010 6:22 pm |
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Sports 
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USC edges Stanford 54-49 LOS ANGELES — After everything it has been through this season, USC wasn’t going to let a little adversity get in its way Saturday night.The Trojans overcame five missed free throws in the final 5:32 and several missed tip-in attempts before scoring the final six points of the game in a 54-49 victory over Stanford. After Marcus Johnson missed a short jump shot with less than 30 seconds left, Leonard Washington and Nikola Vucevic battled to keep the ball alive at the rim until Vucevic finally got one to go down on a soft two-handed putback that sat on the rim before falling through. “It felt like a lifetime,” said Johnson, who had missed three of USC’s errant free throws down the stretch. Vucevic’s basket gave the Trojans (14-9, 6-5 Pac-10) a 50-49 lead and they closed it out with four free throws down the stretch. For Vucevic, who failed to get a point-blank tip down at the buzzer in a 54-53 loss at Stanford earlier this season, this wasn’t deja vu. “I didn’t think about that game again, just this one,” said the 6-foot-10 sophomore who finished with 18 points and 14 rebounds for his ninth double-double of the season. “He’s going to be really good,” USC coach Kevin O’Neill said. “That 18 and 14 is big-time play. He’s only going to get better.” USC, which is ineligible for postseason play after its self-imposed penalties in the O.J. Mayo case, is still gunning for the Pac-10 regular-season title. This three-game homestand that opened with Cal and Stanford and finishes up next Sunday against UCLA “is really big for us,” said point guard Mike Gerrity, who added 11 points against Stanford. The win puts USC in a tie for second in the conference, one game out of first place. Landry Fields had 27 points and 11 rebounds to lead Stanford (10-13, 4-7), which has yet to win a Pac-10 road game in seven attempts. But even he had difficulties in the end. Teammate Jeremy Green missed a potential go-ahead jumper with 10 seconds left and then Fields missed a free throw with 4.2 seconds, sealing the Cardinal’s fate. “Landry Fields played a great game,” said Stanford coach Johnny Dawkins. “We had a chance to win.” Neither team did much offensively. USC shot 38.2 percent (21 for 55) from the field, but Stanford was even worse at 30.4 percent (17 for 56). Take away Fields’ 10-of-19 shooting and the rest of the Cardinal hit just 7 of 37 shots (18.9 percent). Stanford also suffered 10 blocked shots at the hands of the bigger USC defenders. Alex Stepheson had three of those, while Marcus Simmons and Vucevic each had two. “We’re not a great offensive team,” Vucevic said of the Trojans, who knocked off league-leading Cal 66-63 Thursday. “We just have to play hard and not ease up.” USC came out strong in the first half, hustling on defense and scoring quickly on the break en route to a 22-9 lead in the first 12 minutes. The Cardinal answered with a 14-0 run over the next 3:41 that included four 3-pointers and gave them a 23-22 lead. Vucevic managed to get USC back on top 27-26 by intermission, but his five points accounted for all of USC’s scoring in the half’s final 8:16. |
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