USC is left on call waiting

TEMPE, Ariz. -- USC had won five of its previous six Pacific 10 Conference road games by putting its opponent in a foul mood.

In four of the five victories, the Trojans attempted more free throws than their opponent and in the other -- a victory over Arizona on Thursday -- they equaled the opponent’s attempts.

So when USC sophomore forward Taj Gibson contemplated that Arizona State attempted 36 free throws in the second half alone Saturday during an 80-66 victory over the Trojans at Wells Fargo Arena, he felt something was amiss.

“The foul calls were just ridiculous,” said Gibson, who was the second Trojan to foul out when he was disqualified with 8 minutes 30 seconds remaining.

“I’m not taking anything away from Arizona State -- they played a great game -- but at the end of the game you look at the foul calls and you’ve got to question it. Half of our starting five fouled out.”

USC nearly ran out of players after two starters and two reserves fouled out, finishing the game with a lineup that included two walk-ons, two reserves and starting guard Dwight Lewis.

Arizona State attempted 36 of its 39 free throws in the second half, transforming a three-point deficit into leads as large as 22 points while securing a victory that boosted its NCAA tournament hopes. The Sun Devils improved to 18-10 overall and 8-8 in the Pac-10 after finishing the game with as many free-throw tries as field-goal attempts.

Freshman O.J. Mayo scored 26 of his career-high 37 points in the second half for USC (18-10, 9-7), which lost a chance to overtake Washington State for third place in the conference standings.

The 20 second-half fouls on USC included technical fouls called on Coach Tim Floyd and freshman forward Davon Jefferson and an intentional foul by sophomore guard Daniel Hackett for hacking Arizona State’s Jerren Shipp on a breakaway.

The Trojans led, 32-31, early in the second half when Floyd complained about an offensive foul on Jefferson, prompting an official to call a technical on the coach. Arizona State guard Derek Glasser made both free throws and the Sun Devils never trailed again.

“We lost our poise,” Mayo said. “We had some intentional fouls and some technical fouls and just kind of unraveled and lost our poise as a team.”

Jefferson picked up his fourth foul with 8:45 left and then, when he complained, was immediately called for a technical that resulted in his fifth personal. Arizona State made all four resulting free throws, giving it a 59-38 lead and concluding a stretch in which it scored 13 consecutive points from the foul line.

The Sun Devils then extended their advantage to 62-40 when junior forward Jeff Pendergraph scored inside and drew Gibson’s fifth foul.

But the Trojans, who failed to fully capitalize on a first-half stretch in which Arizona State went scoreless for nearly nine minutes, stormed back behind a flurry of three-point baskets from Mayo, who made seven of 10 shots from beyond the arc for the game.

Mayo’s last three-pointer with 3:04 left pulled USC to within 71-62, and the Trojans got the ball back after a turnover by Sun Devils freshman James Harden, who scored 24 points.

That’s when a traveling violation on USC freshman Marcus Simmons gave the ball back to Arizona State, which made nine of 10 free throws over the final 2:03 to secure the victory.

Afterward, opinions varied as to why USC was called for a season-high 28 fouls. While Floyd said he wasn’t sure and would have to review the game film, Mayo said it was a result of Arizona State’s attacking the basket.

Hackett, the final Trojan to foul out, said the fouls stemmed in part from a change in officiating philosophy.

“I thought they started letting us play physical and then the calls got really cheap,” Hackett said. “It just seemed like [the Sun Devils] were getting a lot of calls, and I don’t think we did a good job of playing without our hands and we didn’t do a good job of getting back on defense. I’m not going to sit here and cry about the refs when the game’s over.”

ben.bolch@latimes.com