USC Gives Stanford Fits, but Only for First Half

With a much larger front line and a backcourt that bombed away from behind the three-point line, No. 14-ranked Stanford dealt another blow to a spiraling USC basketball team Saturday night.

Brushing themselves off after playing their worst game of the season against California on Thursday, the Trojans were rigid on defense and used the quickness of their guards to slice through Stanford’s defense in the first half.

In the end, though, the Trojans, who were without two more mainstays for disciplinary reasons, were overwhelmed, 83-59, before 2,014 at the Sports Arena.

It was the first time in 69 years that Stanford has swept UCLA and USC in the same season.

Junior guard Arthur Lee, who had a career-high 26 points against the Trojans earlier this season, scored 23 points and made five of eight three-point shots. As a team, the Cardinal was 11 for 24 from beyond the three-point line.

Leading, 38-35, Stanford went on a 23-6 run early in the second half, highlighted by Lee’s three three-pointers, to take a 61-41 lead with 12:09 to play.

“We played great for 20 minutes,” said senior Gary Williams, who led the Trojans with 18 points and eight rebounds. “We were getting open and getting in their face on defense. In the second half, their big guys got more aggressive and didn’t show us any love under the basket.”

Stanford, 21-3 overall, 10-2 in the Pacific 10, also got 19 points and 10 rebounds from 7-foot-1 center Tim Young. Forwards Peter Sauer had 10 points and Madsen seven points and 12 rebounds--nine in the second half.

For USC (7-16, 3-10), it is now apparently a marching to the cellar of the Pac-10.

The day began with more controversy. Senior guard Gary Johnson was held out for an undisclosed team rule violation and junior guard Elias Ayuso was suspended from the game for missing class.

Last week, junior guard Ken Sims was suspended for the season for cursing at coaches and complaining about lack of playing time.

Against Stanford, Bibby started three freshmen, one sophomore and senior Gary Williams.

For the first time all season, Bibby abandoned the practice of wholesale substitutions, sticking with a six-man rotation the entire first half, which included freshmen Kevin Augustine and Greg Lakey.

The Trojans got good penetration from Augustine who had two assists and Williams broke open from the perimeter and made all three of his three-pointers.