USC upsets Sun Devils in Pac-12 Tournament


The No. 12 seeded Trojans shocked the Pac-12 by mounting one of the greatest comebacks in recent Trojan history, trailing by as much as 15 at one point, to upset No. 5 seeded Arizona State with a 67-64 victory.

Freshman Elijah Stewart led all scorers with a career high 27 points, including 6-8 from beyond the arc, and sophomore Nikola Jovanovic came up with a huge block in the final seconds to seal the upset for the Trojans   (12-19, 3-15).

Arizona State (17-15, 9-9) jumped to an early 32-17 lead before the Trojans ended the half on an 11-6 run to cut the deficit to 10 points, 28-38. Stewart led USC with 13 first half points and had an electrifying block on Jacobsen.

Being one of the youngest teams in the country has cost the Trojans dearly all season. Once again, the Trojans shot a better percentage than their opponents but suffered 10   first- half turnovers while allowing nine offensive rebounds that led to 12 second chance points.

It looked as if the Trojans were going to let another game slip away as a Jacobsen jumper gave the Sun Devils a 14-point lead with just over nine minutes to play. For the first time this season, the Trojans responded triumphantly, however.

For the remainder of the game, USC locked down on defense, holding the Sun Devils to just one field goal and two free throws. Jumpstarted by 10 straight points from Stewart, the Trojan offense appeared out of nowhere.

Back to back layups from sophomores Darion Clark and Julian Jacobs gave the Trojans their first lead of the game with just over a minute to play.

“We were ultra focused and remained poised,” Jacobs said. “I think that was the key.”

Shaquielle McKissic, who has played savior for Arizona State in the past, put the Trojans on their heels. McKissic scored on a hard drive to the basket to cut the lead to one point before attacking the rim with just seconds to play in hopes of saving the Sun Devils once again.

However, McKissic was met by a Serbian wall in Jovanovic. After McKissic beat Jacobs off the dribble, the second year big man rotated over and blocked McKissic’s layup with seven seconds to play. Stewart added two free throws to all but seal a victory.

While freshman phenom Jordan McLaughlin has been out of action with a shoulder injury, both Jacobs and Stewart have developed and blossomed their play.

“Elijah Stewart and Julian Jacobs are much better players than they were a month and a half ago,” said head coach Andy Enfield of starting backcourt.

Jacobs would finish with 12 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

McKissic led the Sun Devils with 16 points and nine rebounds and forward Bo Barnes contributed 15 points off the bench.

Enfield recorded his most impressive win since taking over the reigns of the Trojan program two years ago. While the Trojans have struggled this season, losing numerous close games down the stretch, they remained competitive and showed flashes of a great team in the making.

“We never let ourselves become defined by our close losses,” Enfield said. “We’ve never felt better about our future than right now.”

The Trojan’s victory was the first time in the history of the Pac-12 Tournament that a No. 12 seed has won a game. The win was also USC’s first Pac-12 victory away from the Galen Center this year and their first win in the tournament in four years.

USC will be rewarded with a matchup against cross town rivals No. 4 seed UCLA in the quarterfinals on Thursday afternoon.

“They’re on the bubble of making the tournament,” Jacobs said of playing UCLA. “And we’d love to stop them from making it.”

win over Washington gave the Trojans their third conference win of the season, which is more than they had all of last season.

UCLA is coming off a win over the Washington State Cougars (12-16, 6-10) by a score of 72-67 to keep their tournament chances alive. Senior guard Norman Powell scored a       game-high 28 points. Junior forward Tony Parker came off the bench to contribute 15 points and 10 rebounds. Sophomore guard Bryce Alford and freshman forward Kevon Looney had 13 and 12 points respectively.

USC will try to play the role of spoiler against their rivals. If UCLA is able to take home the victory, they will have ended their season on a three-game winning streak. The strong ending to their season could give them a stronger case towards earning a berth in the tournament, but they still would not have a significant nonconference win under their belt. They lost to every ranked opponent they played during the year.

The last time these two teams squared off, the Bruins blew out the Trojans in the second half to secure the win. The Trojans fell to the Bruins 83-66 and they were out-rebounded by the crosstown rival 41-20. Jovanovic was the leading scorer for the Trojans the last time around with 20 points, but Powell and Alford shined for UCLA as they had 22 and 21 points respectively. The difference in the first meeting was the second half, during which UCLA shot 62.5 percent and extended the lead.

Jovanovic has been the most consistent player for USC this season although a big game against UCLA would help validate his skill set and give the young forward confidence heading into the off season ahead of next season.

“It was a big win because it’s a confidence boost,” Jovanovic said.

Jacobs has also shined in the absence of McLaughlin and has consistently been posting impressive stat lines. The captain of the squad has been near a triple double a couple of times, but it is his leadership on the court that has really made the difference. He has been more vocal in directing his teammates and calling plays. Jacobs knew that the win would be a huge boost heading into his junior year and was glad that he performed so well in front of the home crowd.

“We wanted to give them something to look forward to next year,” Jacobs said.

The game will be held at Pauley Pavilion and will tip off at 6 pm. The game will air on ESPN2.