Men’s basketball loses in last seconds

Despite a spirited comeback, the USC Trojans men’s basketball team fell to the Stanford Cardinal 78-76 on Sunday night. The team’s record falls to 9-6 overall and 1-3 in conference.

The Trojans trailed by as many as 13 points before pulling within one point with just seconds to go, but ultimately came up short.

USC entered the game fresh off their first Pac-12 conference win of the season over the Cal Golden Bears. Freshman point guard Jordan McLaughlin returned after a two-game absence due to a shoulder injury.

Though they made four of their first five shots, the Trojans fell behind early to the Cardinal. Stanford, led by Pac-12 No. 2 scoring leader guard Chasson Randle, shot the lights out in the first half.

The Stanford bench and outside shooting carried the Cardinal through the half. Junior forward Rosco Allen came off the bench to contribute 12 first-half points, including 3-3 from     three-point range. Stanford shot 9-13 from behind the arc as a team and cruised to a comfortable    49-43 halftime lead.

The Trojans were able to stay in the game by capitalizing on turnovers and converting at the free-throw line. As a team, they shot 12-14 from the charity stripe and forced the Cardinal to turn the ball over seven times in the first half.

USC came out of halftime looking to take the lead, but turnovers cost the team dearly. The Trojans turned the ball over nine times in the second half and quickly found themselves down by double digits.

Stanford led by as much as 13 points before going cold for the last five-plus minutes of the second half. Freshman guard Elijah Stewart and sophomore guard Julian Jacobs sparked a Trojan run by scoring nine straight points. After a handful of missed Stanford threes, McLaughlin grabbed the rebound and took the ball coast to coast and converted the layup, bringing the Trojans within one at 77-76 with 40 seconds left in the game. The Trojan defense came up huge once again and gave the team a chance to win with 7.6 seconds left.

Just when it seemed the Trojans could take the lead, McLaughlin turned the ball over when driving to the paint. One free throw from center Stefan Nastic sealed the victory for the Cardinal.

“We wanted to penetrate and see if we could score, make one or two passes. Look, you can’t fault him. He played his first game back from a serious shoulder separation,” head coach Andy Enfield said. “He comes out and just plays so hard and I’m very, very proud of him. What can you say. He gave it his best chance and he just tripped.”

The Trojan defense stepped up their game in the second half as they held Stanford to just one made three-pointer and 35 percent shooting from the field. The team also forced Stanford into 14 turnovers and outscored the Cardinal 42-32 in the paint. The Trojans also did not allow a field goal for the final 5:27 of the game.

“We have potential, I think you see that,” Enfield said. “For them to rally and get stops on the defensive end. We were down double digits and for us to come back, that’s a very positive sign that we didn’t give up.”

The Trojans face crosstown rival UCLA on Wednesday night at the Galen Center. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.