March 2, 2000
By ROB GLOSTER
AP Sports Writer
STANFORD, Calif. - Top-ranked Stanford was virtually unstoppable, evenwhen an overzealous Southern California bench player tried to get in on theaction.
Casey Jacobsen had 23 points as Stanford, which has been overwhelmingopponents with suffocating defense all season, displayed its offensive might ina 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 22.4points this season. Stanford has won its last six games by an average margin of30.3 points.
Things got so bad for Southern California late in the first half that JarvisTurner, in street clothes on the bench, reached out and grabbed Jacobsen'sshirt as he dribbled toward the basket.
The resulting technical foul gave Stanford a 54-28 lead with 1:28 left inthe 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 throughthe second half.
Jarron Collins added 19 points and 10 rebounds for Stanford, which has onlyhad one higher scoring game in a Pac-10 contest - a double-overtime 116-110 winover UCLA in 1987-88.
The victory, coupled with No. 3 Arizona's 70-69 loss at Oregon State, gaveStanford undisputed possession of first place in the Pac-10 for the first timethis season.
David Bluthenthal had 17 points for the Trojans (14-13, 7-8), who have lostseven of eight and are struggling to hold on to hopes of getting an NCAAtournament bid. Stanford fans mocked the visitors with chants of "N-I-T" inthe second half.
The lone bright spot for Southern California was the return of forward SamClancy, who was the Trojans' leading scorer and rebounder when he broke hisright foot Jan. 20 against Arizona State. Clancy had four points and fiverebounds in 18 minutes in his first action since the injury.
The game was decided early. Stanford took a quick 11-3 lead by breakingthrough 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 a27-point halftime lead. Stanford began the second half with a 17-7 run thatincluded seven points by Jacobsen and took an 88-47 lead with 10 1/2 minutesremaining.
Stanford reached 100 points with 5:26 remaining on a length-of-the-courtdrive by Julius Barnes that included a behind-the-back dribble.