University Southern California Trojans
USC
Stanford
Trojans Can't Hold Off Cardinal
January 24, 2004 | Men's Basketball
By JANIE McCAULEY
AP Sports Writer
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) - Chris Hernandez had 18 points, seven assists and five rebounds, and No. 2 Stanford stayed unbeaten by pulling away from Southern California for a 77-67 victory Saturday night.
Nick Robinson scored all 13 of his points in the second half as the Cardinal (16-0, 7-0 Pac-10) received their biggest test yet at home, where a sellout crowd of 7,391 rocked Maples Pavilion from the opening tip. Robinson was 6-for-6 in the second half.
Desmon Farmer had 19 points, three assists and three steals for USC (8-9, 3-5), which lost its third straight game and has won at Maples only twice since 1992. Farmer was held to six points in the second half - a 3-pointer and three free throws.
Stanford ran into an inspired and physical Trojans team that was coming off a one-point loss at California on Thursday. USC played stingy man-to-man defense, rarely allowing the Cardinal to take an uncontested shot.
Hernandez scored five straight points late in the game, including a 3-pointer that banked in just before the shot clock expired. Stanford is one of two undefeated Division I teams left in the country along with third-ranked Saint Joseph's, a 114-63 winner over St. Bonaventure on Saturday.
After Errick Craven gave USC a 47-46 lead with 10:51 left, Hernandez hit a 3-pointer to start a 10-1 Stanford run that gave the Cardinal a 56-48 lead with 8:47 remaining.
Trojans coach Henry Bibby, whistled for a technical in the first half, dropped to 5-12 against Stanford, though USC has beaten the Cardinal in the Pac-10 tournament the past two seasons.
Stanford's Josh Childress, a preseason All-America candidate, made his second start of the season following a foot injury that sidelined him for the first nine games. The 6-foot-8 forward had 11 points, seven rebounds, three assists, a block and a steal in 26 minutes.
Stanford made silly mistakes in a sloppy first half and trailed 34-28 at halftime - just the second time this season the Cardinal have been behind at the break. Rice led 28-22 at halftime on Nov. 30, but Stanford won 60-56.
Matt Haryasz gave Stanford a big lift off the bench in the first half, making two straight jump shots with a defensive rebound in between. During another spurt, he had three blocked shots, a steal and hit the floor hard to control a loose ball. He finished with eight points and five rebounds.
