Stanford Brings Out Worst in USC; UCLA Wins : Trojans Again Lose to Cardinal, Then Stick Around and Practice

STANFORD —  What is it about Stanford that brings out the worst in USC? No one can come up with a satisfactory explanation.

But it’s obvious that the Cardinal has the Trojans’ number. Not only did Stanford beat USC Thursday night at Maples Pavilion, the Cardinal humiliated the Trojans, 86-65.

It was USC’s largest losing spread of the season, to a team that has won only three conference games while losing 11. Two of the wins have been at USC’s expense.

But USC didn’t lose its share of the Pacific 10 lead despite its sorry showing. Arizona obliged by bowing to Oregon. So the Trojans and Wildcats are still tied for first place with 10-4 records.

Contending teams are now bunched in the concluding weeks of the regular season. Oregon State (9-4), Washington (9-5) and UCLA (9-5) are all very much in the race, which may not be decided until the final weekend.

USC Coach Stan Morrison kept his locker room closed for a half-hour while reporters stood on one foot and then another, waiting for a comment.

When Morrison finally emerged, it was obvious that he was in no mood to be interviewed.

“We have the talent to win the conference,” he said, “but our problems are from the neck up. There will definitely be some lineup changes due to the lack of effort tonight.”

USC has had virtually the same starting lineup since the first game of the season--forwards Wayne Carlander and Derrick Dowell, center Clayton Olivier and guards Larry Friend and Ron Holmes.

Morrison wouldn’t elaborate on what changes he had in mind.

“Stanford out-hustled us in absolutely every department,” the USC coach said. “Their effort was the effort of a champion. Our effort was anything but that.”

When someone asked Morrison if there wasn’t some consolation in the sense that Arizona lost, Morrison terminated the interview.

“There is no damn consolation whenever you lose,” he said. “The consolation comes when you give a good effort . . . and the absurdity of that question makes me so angry that I don’t want to say anything else.”

Morrison then wheeled and went back into his dresssing room. He didn’t allow reporters to interview his players.

But a peek through the partially open door revealed USC players sitting solemnly with their heads down.

When the Trojans finally left the sanctuary of their dressing quarters, they didn’t get on the team bus to their hotel. They stayed at Maples Pavilion and practiced. That’s right, they were on the floor long after a crowd of 5,664 had left.

It’s presumed that they’ll practice again today in preparation for their game with California at Berkeley Saturday night.

Stanford beat USC, 60-54, last month at the Sports Arena. So it can’t be said that the Trojans were caught napping.

Holmes and reserve guard Glenn Smith supplied the bulk of USC’s offense. Holmes finished with 27 points, while Smith had 20, including 16 in the second half.

But Carlander (4 of 13 from the floor), Dowell (only five rebounds), Olivier (no points) and Friend were obviously off their games.

Stanford penetrated USC’s defense for high-percentage shots, many layups, and shot a blistering 86.4% in the second half.

The Cardinal led by only 31-30 at halftime and was ahead by only 53-48 with 8 1/2 minutes left. Then Kent Seymour, a senior center from Long Beach Poly, rolled in a shot from behind the basket, and forward Andy Fischer followed with a fast-break layup.

Stanford kept improving on its lead and went on a 14-point blitz in garbage time to expand on a 70-63 advantage with 1:59 left.

Morrison had some of his reserves on the floor at the end, players like Ivan Harris and Brad Winslow, who don’t get off the bench too often.

USC can go into the Northwest and beat Oregon State and Washington on their home courts, but it can’t handle Stanford, a hustling team but one without much individual talent.

It was USC’s first road loss in the conference after six straight wins. Significantly, USC didn’t look like a team that is capable of winning its first league championship in 24 years.

Stanford’s players had difficulty explaining their strange mastery of the Trojans. The Cardinal is certainly not intimidating against anyone else.

“I don’t know how to explain it,” forward Earl Koberlein said, “but they (USC) looked tentative tonight. By beating them before, maybe that set something in their mind.”

Koberlein accidentally broke Seymour’s nose in the second half, but not before the Stanford center scored a career-high 17 points. He was perfect from the field (six for six) and from the free-throw line (five for five).

Seyomur has been in and out of the starting lineup the entire season.

Fischer, Stanford’s junior forward, also supplied plenty of offense. He scored a career-high 22 points on 8-of-11 shooting.

Holmes carried USC in the first half when he scored 17 points, mainly on high-arching jump shots. Smith took over in the second half. The others were merely bystanders.

Holmes made 8 of his 15 shots, while Smith was 10 for 18. The other Trojans were were 7 for 27 from the field.

It’s kind to say that Stanford is not a quick team. Still, the Cardinal outrebounded the Trojans, 29-24.

USC has managed to beat Stanford only once the past two years, a 51-49 overtime victory in 1984.

Stanford was shooting only 41% in league games before Thursday night. But the Cardinal shot 68.1% for the full 40 minutes, while USC was only 47.1%.

“It was important for us to get this win,” Stanford Coach Tom Davis said. “These kids have played their hearts out through losing efforts. They just couldn’t put the ball in the hoop. This win will keep up our enthusiasm.”

It won’t do much, however, for USC’s enthusiasm. The Trojans are now 16-7 overall, while Stanford is 11-13.

There was a distinct sound that could be heard late Thursday night at Maples Pavilion. It was the thump, thump, thump of basketballs on the floor as the Trojans practiced on into the night.