Shot goes out, so USC stays in the race

The muddled mess that is the Pacific 10 Conference basketball race could be seen in the two seconds that a shot by Stanford’s Lawrence Hill floated through the air Thursday.

USC was fatigued and hurting, with two players so sick that they were doubtful 24 hours earlier and another hobbling on a bad left ankle. This loss was going to kill the Trojans.

Stanford was slip-sliding away after going undefeated in nonconference play, losing two conference road games by one point. This victory was going to rejuvenate the Cardinal.

The ball dropped in the basket . . . then rolled out. The Trojans did a hop, skip and jump, taking a 70-69 victory with them off the Galen Center court.

“This is a do-or-die conference,” said Taj Gibson, who had a game-high 20 points despite starting the week with pneumonia. “We survived this one.”

And now comes the next one. The Trojans, 14-6 overall and 5-3 in conference play, have outscored their opponents by a total of four points in their last three victories. That has them a game out of first place after the kind roll at the buzzer Thursday.

That’s as clear as it can get in a conference that is having its stock downgraded almost weekly on the national level.

Still, it’s better to be near the top of the mountain even if it may be a molehill.

“We feel very fortunate to be 5-3,” Coach Tim Floyd said. “We could easily be 2-6.”

The Trojans survived to be among the contenders after enduring a Stanford team that picked them apart in the first half and had the game at their feet and the ball in the right hands.

Hill (19 points) took a pass on the baseline, with Gibson on his hip, then let fly a fall-away.

“I thought it was in where I was sitting,” Floyd said.

Said USC forward DeMar DeRozan: “I was sure it was in. I didn’t want it to be, but it looked good.”

When it came out, “I gave a sigh of relief,” Gibson said. “We defended the home court. The team that defends their home court is going to win this conference.”

Gibson was unlikely to step on his home court a little more than 24 hours ago.

He came back from the Trojans’ trip to Washington with pneumonia.

“I didn’t think he would play as of Wednesday,” Floyd said. “Yesterday the doctor called and said his lungs were clear. He worked out for 30 minutes and they checked him again [Thursday] morning.”

Said Gibson: “I was going to play. Coach and the doctor were saying, ‘Now wait a minute buddy.’ But I was going to play.”

Gibson made nine of 12 shots and also had two blocks. Daniel Hackett, playing with flu, had 12 points and Dwight Lewis, playing on a sore ankle, had nine.

They were supported by spurts from Leonard Washington and Marcus Johnson. Washington had 12 points, eight in the first five minutes of the second half. Johnson had nine points off the bench, seven in the last 11 minutes.

“You play enough close games with young guys, they get better,” Floyd said.

Stanford (13-5, 3-5) is waiting for the “better.” The Cardinal finished the first half with a 21-8 run to take a 38-33 lead. Stanford shot 51.6% in the half. That changed in the second half when it shot 38.5%.

“The team that wins this conference is going to be the one who plays defense,” Lewis said. “We did that in the second half.”

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chris.foster@latimes.com

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Up next

VS. CALIFORNIA

Saturday, 8:30 p.m., Galen Center, Prime: Taj Gibson and Dwight Lewis each scored 21 points in a 93-89 overtime victory the last time the Trojans played the Bears.

-- Chris Foster