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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) -- Top-ranked Stanford was virtually
unstoppable, even when an overzealous Southern California bench
player tried to get in on the action.
Casey Jacobsen had 23 points as Stanford, which has been
overwhelming opponents with suffocating defense all season,
displayed its offensive might in a 111-68 win Thursday night over
the skidding Trojans.
It was the 13th straight win by a double-digit margin for the
Cardinal (25-1, 14-1 Pac-10), who lead the nation with an average
winning margin of 22.4 points this season. Stanford has won its
last six games by an average margin of 30.3 points.
Things got so bad for Southern California late in the first half
that Jarvis Turner, in street clothes on the bench, reached out and
grabbed Jacobsen's shirt as he dribbled toward the basket.
"It was instinct. I was reaching out to try to distract him and
accidentally grabbed him. I didn't mean to do it," Turner said.
"That's one way to get into the box score."
Southern California coach Henry Bibby said he lambasted Turner, who has been sidelined since Jan. 20 with a broken left ankle, in the locker room at halftime and apologized to Stanford coach Mike Montgomery after the game.
"We don't go along with that. I jumped on him at halftime,"
Bibby said. "Next time he's got a ticket home."
The resulting technical foul gave Stanford a 54-28 lead with
1:28 left in the first half, and things just got worse for Southern
California after that. Trailing 57-30 at halftime, the Trojans fell
behind by 44 points midway through the second half.
"That is a first. It was very, very bizarre," Jacobsen said of
Turner's grab. "I was in the corner, a guy was flying at me. I
tried to drive and I couldn't move."
Jarron Collins added 19 points and 10 rebounds for Stanford,
which has only had one higher scoring game in a Pac-10 contest -- a
double-overtime 116-110 win over UCLA in 1987-88.
The victory, coupled with No. 3 Arizona's 70-69 loss at Oregon
State, gave Stanford undisputed possession of first place in the
Pac-10 for the first time this season.
David Bluthenthal had 17 points for the Trojans (14-13, 7-8),
who have lost seven of eight and are struggling to hold on to hopes
of getting an NCAA tournament bid. Stanford fans mocked the
visitors with chants of "N-I-T" in the second half.
The lone bright spot for Southern California was the return of
forward Sam Clancy, who was the Trojans' leading scorer and
rebounder when he broke his right foot Jan. 20 against Arizona
State. Clancy had four points and five rebounds in 18 minutes in
his first action since the injury.
"It felt good to get out there. I missed it a lot," Clancy
said. "My foot felt fine the whole time."
The game was decided early. Stanford took a quick 11-3 lead by
breaking through Southern California's full-court defensive
pressure for easy layups, and extended its lead to 23-9.
The Cardinal led 48-28 with three minutes left in the first
half, and had a 27-point halftime lead. Stanford began the second
half with a 17-7 run that included seven points by Jacobsen and
took an 88-47 lead with 10½ minutes remaining.
Stanford reached 100 points with 5:26 remaining on a
length-of-the-court drive by Julius Barnes that included a
behind-the-back dribble.
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ALSO SEE
Mens College Basketball Scoreboard
USC Clubhouse
Stanford Clubhouse
Pac-10
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