USC basketball: Sun Devils win grinder against Trojans, 59-54

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One game from the end of its season, USC turned in a gritty performance here against Arizona State on Thursday before falling, 59-54.

USC’s Marcus Johnson made a three-point jumper over two defenders with 18 seconds left, cutting the Trojans’ deficit to 55-54. The Trojans were forced to foul with 14.6 seconds left, and Rihards Kuksiks made two free throws. On the other end, USC’s Dwight Lewis was blocked on a drive by Arizona State center Eric Boateng, and ASU’s Derek Glasser made two free throws to seal the win.

Kuksiks led Arizona State with 24 points on eight-of-13 shooting from the field, including six of nine from three-point range. Mike Gerrity and Marcus Simmons each had 11 points for USC.

The game was quite a bit more impressive offensively compared to the teams’ first meeting this season when USC won, 47-37. Both teams rank in the top 10 nationally in scoring defense, USC at the third spot coming into Thursday’s game while Arizona State was at seventh.

USC (16-13 overall, 8-9 in Pacific 10 Conference play) has lost four straight and falls to 2-8 in true road games this season.

Arizona State (21-9, 11-6) stays alive for its chance to win a share of the Pacific 10 Conference regular-season title. The Sun Devils need to win against UCLA on Saturday and have Stanford beat California to finish tied for first.

USC’s final game of the 2009-10 season is Saturday in Tucson against Arizona. Tip-off is at 10:30 a.m. PST.

-- Baxter Holmes in Tempe, Ariz.