March 1, 2001
By KEN PETERS
AP Sports Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Casey Jacobsen, his left eye puffy from a blow late inthe game, was smiling - and relieved.
Jacobsen scored 22 points, including an important layup and free throw inthe closing minutes, as top-ranked Stanford lost most of a 16-point lead beforeholding on for a 70-68 victory Thursday night over Southern California.
Stanford (26-1) remained atop the Pac-10 with a 14-1 mark. USC (18-9, 8-7)lost for the fifth time in its last eight games.
Brandon Granville threw up an air ball for the Trojans as time ran out,keeping USC winless against No. 1 teams dating back to a victory over UCLA 31years ago.
Jacobsen was poked in the eye by the Trojans' Sam Clancy as the Stanfordstar made a driving layup with 1:32 left.
No foul was called, but Jacobsen sprawled on the court for several momentsand Cardinal coach Mike Montgomery hastily called a timeout so USC wouldn'thave a 5-on-4 advantage.
"It's all right now," Jacobsen said of his red eye. "Clancy got hisfinger right in there and it really hurt. But I'm all right, especially withthe win."
Montgomery said: "Not only did we not get the foul, but I called a time outmore vociferously than I usually do. They were going to break downcourt 5-on-4,and at that point, we couldn't afford it."
The Trojans trailed 41-34 at halftime and were behind by as much as 53-37early in the second half before rallying to close to 65-62 with 1:52 remaining.
Ryan Mendez, who had 16 points for the Cardinal, provided the differencewhen he made both free throws on a 1-and-1 for a 70-66 lead with 13.8 secondsremaining.
Clancy scored on a dunk for USC with 7.2 seconds left, then Jacobsen missedthe first of a 1-and-1 with 6.3 seconds left. The Trojans brought the ball upbut could not get off a decent shot.
"I didn't expect anything less than this," Montgomery said of the narrowescape. "It was a war."
Coach Henry Bibby was pleased with the play of the Trojans, who were led byClancy's 16 points and Brian Scalabrine's 13.
"You saw how good we can be," Bibby said. "We took the No. 1 team to asix-second ball game. Other than not getting off the last shot, we played verywell."
Stanford moves on to Pauley Pavilion, where the Cardinal will play12th-ranked UCLA on Saturday and try to avenge their only loss of the season.The Bruins knocked the Cardinal out of the No. 1 spot for a while with a 79-73victory at Stanford on Feb. 3.
"If we win on Saturday, it means we had a good weekend down here,"Stanford point guard Michael McDonald said. "A split does nothing for us interms of the Pac-10 championship, we didn't come down here for a split."
USC played Stanford tough in their earlier meeting this season, Feb. 1 atMaples Center. The Trojans led 57-54 with 7:05 left and were behind by only apoint in the final two minutes before the Cardinal pulled away to win 77-71.
Southern California had spent most of the season ranked in the Top 25,rising as high as 12th early in December. But the Trojans dropped out of therankings the second week of February and have gone into a slump that includedtheir worst home loss ever, a 105-61 defeat by Arizona.
The Trojans last beat a No. 1 team when they shocked UCLA 87-86 at PauleyPavilion on March 6, 1970.