Even at Their Best, Trojans Get Worst of It : Stanford Holds Off USC Rally From 15 Points Down and Wins, 73-65

In a season in which the USC basketball team has turned the ball over excessively, shot poorly and lost by some embarrassing margins, the Trojans played one of their best games Saturday at the Sports Arena.

Still, it wasn’t enough as USC lost to Stanford, 73-65. The Trojans trailed, 60-45, with 7:28 remaining before making a stirring run that fell short.

USC (7-20 overall, 5-13 in the Pacific 10 Conference) reduced Stanford’s lead to three points twice in the closing minutes but couldn’t get any closer in the final regular-season game for both teams.

Stanford (19-10, 11-7) has beaten USC nine straight times dating to the 1983-84 season.

“I can’t fault our effort,” USC Coach George Raveling said. “We played as hard as we possibly could. There were several times when the game looked like it would be a blowout, but every time we found a way (to come back).”

In the final analysis, the Trojans couldn’t stop center Greg Butler and forward Howard Wright, who continually powered inside for baskets.

The 6-foot 11-inch Butler scored 25 points on 8-of-14 shooting, and the 6-8 Wright added 18, making 8 of 11 shots.

Ronnie Coleman, a freshman forward, led USC with 19 points, and forward Chris Moore got all of his 11 points in the second half. Center Chris Munk also had 11 points.

It’s likely that the Trojans will finish in a three-way tie for eighth place with California and Washington, heading into the Pac-10 tournament Thursday at Tucson. The Bears (5-12) play UCLA today at Pauley Pavilion, while Washington (5-13) lost to conference champion Arizona Saturday night.

In that event, USC would be the ninth-seeded team in the tournament on the basis of sweeping Cal this season. But Washington, which split with USC, would be eighth-seeded because it has beaten teams that were higher in the standings.

USC committed an average of 19.7 turnovers, worst in the conference, coming into the regular-season ending series with California (USC won, 63-46, Thursday night) and Stanford.

However, USC had only 11 turnovers against Stanford, shot 47.1% from the field and 81.3% from the free-throw line.

It wasn’t enough, though.

An upset seemed possible when Coleman made a short jump shot from the baseline with 2:29 left, cutting Stanford’s lead to 66-63.

Then, Butler got inside and scored on a layup. Coleman countered with another basket from the baseline before Stanford guard Terry Taylor made two free throws with 18 seconds left.

The Trojans then tried to set up a three-point shot for Andy Olivarez, but he was cited for charging with 10 seconds left.

Stanford closed out the scoring from the free-throw line.

Raveling said his team didn’t follow his directions in trying to set up the three-point shot for Olivarez. Guard Rich Grande dribbled in the wrong direction, according to Raveling, while shouting to Olivarez to swing along the baseline for a three-point shot.

“All of those guys (Stanford) had 1,400 on their SATs and they understand English,” Raveling said. “If we played another team, maybe it would have worked. But Stanford picked it right up.”

Raveling also said that USC hurt its own cause by failing to get a field goal in a five-minute stretch late in the first half.

The Cardinal led at halftime, 33-23, and was in control of the game until the Trojans made their late run.

It has been a disappointing season for USC, which had been picked by conference coaches to finish third.

“Before the game, I told the team there’s nobody left but us now,” Raveling said. “We’re all in the same boat, rowing in the same direction. It doesn’t matter what people think of us because they have that right.

“We’ll go into the Pac-10 tournament and play as hard as we did today and maybe we’ll get lucky. There’s nobody left but the coaches and players. Everyone else has abandoned us. But as long as we don’t give up on each other, we’ll be OK.”

Stanford Coach Mike Montgomery said his team was better mentally prepared Saturday than it was Thursday night in losing to UCLA, 91-69.

“You’ve got to give a lot of credit to George for the way they (USC) played today,” Montgomery said. As for the upcoming tournament, Montgomery said that it’s difficult to beat Arizona at home, but he gave UCLA, Oregon State and his own team a chance for an upset. Stanford beat Arizona earlier in the season at Palo Alto.