USC’s Nikola Vucevic takes a hands-on approach and it pays off

A month ago, USC’s Nikola Vucevic blew the game against Stanford. This came on a failed tip-in at the buzzer.

He used one hand on that attempt, not two. So Trojans Coach Kevin O’Neill asked ever-so politely, “If you get a tip-in at the end, go up with two hands, please.”

Vucevic paid heed and proved it Saturday, using both his sizable mitts on a tip-in with 20.6 seconds left that gave the Trojans a lead and the eventual win over Stanford, 54-49, at the Galen Center.

“He always tells me not to do stuff with one hand,” said Vucevic, who had a team-high 18 points. “He was right. That tip-in showed it.”

The put-back came after Marcus Johnson and Leonard Washington had missed three shots in close. But Vucevic was there to use his 6-foot-10 frame and dinner plate-sized hands to grab his 11th rebound.

He threw up a quick shot, but the ball teetered on the front of the rim, while a scrum of players waited to pounce.

“It felt like a lifetime,” Johnson said.

When it rolled in and the arena exhaled, USC led, 50-49. Stanford’s Jeremy Green missed a shot on the Cardinal’s next possession, and the game came down to free throws, with Johnson and Dwight Lewis making four to secure the win.

USC (14-9 overall, 6-5 in Pacific 10 Conference play) still sits one game back of first place before it plays host to UCLA next Sunday.

The win was the Trojans’ second in a row against teams that beat them earlier in the season, and both came against the Pac-10’s premier talent -- Cal’s Jerome Randle on Thursday, Stanford’s Landry Fields, who came in as the Pac-10’s leading scorer (22.9), on Saturday.

Fields averaged only 7.8 points in seven previous games against USC, but had 27 in his eighth try.

“Yeah, we held him to 27. What a great job, huh?” O’Neill said, laughing.

Fields dominated in parts: With USC up, 21-7, in the first half, he scored seven points in a 16-1 run to give Stanford a lead.

And with USC up, 40-32, in the second half, Fields scored nine points in a 12-0 run to again bring the Cardinal back.

In both of those runs, Marcus Simmons defended Fields while Johnson was sitting out with foul trouble, creating a mismatch.

“Marcus Simmons couldn’t guard him,” O’Neill said.

Fields finished 10 for 19 from the field, but his sidekick Green, who came in averaging 18, had only three points on one-for-10 shooting.

Stanford (10-13, 4-7) has lost four games in a row, and all seven of its Pac-10 road games.

USC’s only goal this season remains in sight -- an outright conference title, with seven games to play.

“If we keep doing good on defense,” Vucevic said, “I think we can beat everybody in the conference.”

Vucevic playing clutch also helps. The sophomore had four free throws with less than 10 seconds in Thursday’s win against Cal, and the key basket Saturday, while notching his ninth double-double.

O’Neill liked this one from Vucevic, but likes his future more.

“See, by the time Nik is ready to go next year after a summer of work, he’s going to be really good,” O’Neill said.

baxter.holmes@latimes.com