LOS ANGELES — Southern California advanced to the semifinals of the Pac-10 tournament thanks to an exceptional defensive effort in the second half against Arizona State.
The Trojans benefited from an official’s call as well.
Freshman O.J. Mayo scored 23 points and matched a career high with six assists, and the Trojans held ASU to six field goals after halftime in a 59-55 victory over the Sun Devils on Thursday.
Freshman Davon Jefferson and Taj Gibson each had 11 points and nine rebounds for USC, which held ASU without a field goal after Derek Glasser made his only basket of the game with 9:35 remaining to give the Sun Devils a 49-42 lead.
Arizona State appeared to tie the game at 57 when Jeff Pendergraph slammed in a James Harden miss with 16.9 seconds left, but Pendergraph was called for going over Jefferson’s back for his fifth foul.
Jefferson made two free throws to complete the scoring.
“No, honestly, I didn’t (feel any contact),” Pendergraph said. “They usually don’t blow the whistle. I thought it was clean. It’s not like I pushed anybody out of the way.
“Everybody jumped. I just jumped higher.”
Mayo disagreed, saying: “It was a foul. Body contact.”
USC coach Tim Floyd said he didn’t have a clear look at the play.
“I saw him dunk it and I didn’t like that,” Floyd said. “I’m sure if I was sitting on the other bench, I would have liked it. It’s a difficult game to officiate.”
The win was the sixth in seven games for the fourth-seeded Trojans (21-10), who had already assured themselves of an NCAA tournament berth.
“We’re very fortunate to get out of there,” Floyd said. “I think we’re seeing the greatness in this league in every game in this tournament.”
The Trojans will face No. 3 UCLA in Friday night’s semifinals. The top-seeded Bruins (29-3) beat ninth-seeded California 88-66 in Thursday’s second quarterfinal matchup.
USC shot 42.9 percent to Arizona State’s 35.3 percent and outrebounded the Sun Devils 36-26. The Trojans won despite committing 19 turnovers to 12 for ASU.
Harden, a freshman who scored 50 points in ASU’s two games against USC during the regular season, was held to six in the second half and 16 overall in this game by Daniel Hackett.
“I thought he was outstanding, the second half in particular, defensively,” Floyd said of Hackett. “He just battled, much like he did last year against (Kevin) Durant in the NCAA tournament.”
USC beat Texas 87-68 last March. Durant scored 30 points, but never came close to dominating the East Regional game.
ASU’s NCAA tournament status is in question. Many thought the fifth-seeded Sun Devils (19-12) needed at least one victory in the conference tournament to earn their first NCAA tournament berth in five years.
Other games
No. 3 UCLA 88, California 66: At Los Angeles, the Bruins buried the Bears under a barrage of 3-pointers to start the second half on its way to a victory in the Pac-10 tournament quarterfinals. Darren Collison scored 19 points, Josh Shipp 18, and freshman Kevin Love had nine of his 11 in the second half after early foul trouble. UCLA (29-3) had its best 3-point shooting game of the season, hitting 14-of-25.
No. 11 Stanford 75, Arizona 64: At Los Angeles, Brook Lopez had 20 points and 15 rebounds, including 10 in a second-half spurt that helped the Cardinal pull away to a victory over the Wildcats. The second-seeded Cardinal (25-6) advanced to today’s semifinals against No. 3 seed Washington State. The Cardinal swept the Cougars (24-7) during the regular season. Jerryd Bayless led seventh-seeded Arizona (19-14) with 18 points. Jordan Hill added 16 and Chase Budinger 13.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
