USC Goes Cold, Loses to Stanford, 74-65

USC failed to score for almost 10 minutes in the first half Thursday, and the Trojans could not recover in a 74-65 Pacific 10 Conference loss to Stanford before 7,500 in Maples Pavilion.

Todd Lichti led 13th-ranked Stanford’s first perfect home season in 27 years, starting a 22-0 streak in the first half when USC went cold.

Lichti, Stanford’s all-time scoring leader, scored 28 points as Stanford, 24-5 overall and 15-3 in the Pac-10, completed a 13-0 season at home. The Cardinal clinched second place in the Pac-10 behind Arizona.

USC’s Anthony Pendleton made eight three-point shots and scored 30 points, but his teammates unraveled after the first few minutes and never seriously threatened again.

Stanford led, 39-21, early in the second half, but Pendleton’s outside shooting helped USC (9-20, 2-15) close to within eight several times late in the game.

Howard Wright scored 19 points for Stanford and had 10 rebounds as the Cardinal outrebounded the Trojans, 46-24.

“It was an emotional game for them,” USC Coach George Raveling said. “I think the thing that hurt us most is we came down the floor and didn’t score in 25 straight possessions (in the first half). That pretty much sealed our doom.”

Raveling said Wright dominated the game with his physical play and strong rebounding.

“I’m as proud of these kids as I can be,” Stanford Coach Mike Montgomery said. “We’ve got to play better than this, though, from here on out.”