Trojans light up Cardinal

LOS ANGELES - Southern California head coach Henry Bibby said prior to his team's matchup with Stanford that his team is as good as senior guard Brandon Granville plays.

Granville made his presence felt early with eight points in the first 10 minutes, including two 3-pointers to give the Trojans (21-8) an early cushion. That would eventually develop into a 20-point advantage with 3:44 left in the half.

Granville. along with sophomore guard Desmond Farmer, whipped the Staples Center crowd - comprised mostly of Trojan fans - into a frenzy with hard-nosed defense.

Granville and Farmer finished the first half with eight and 10 points, respectively.

The duo was two of five Trojans that finished the game in double figures.

Pac-10 Player of the Year Sam Clancy made his presence felt early as well, recording 10 points, seven rebounds and a pair of blocks for the Trojans in the first half.

Clancy finished the game with 25 points and nine rebounds.

As the USC guards constantly harassed the Stanford backcourt, Clancy anchored the stifling interior defense that rattled Stanford (19-9) and forced seven turnovers in the first half.

Everything went the way of the Trojans in the first half, as they led by as many as 23.

Not only could the Cardinal not score, but the men of Troy shot a blistering 66.7% from the field in the opening frame, securing a 52-35 halftime advantage.

Stanford did outrebound USC 51-31, but shot 38.2% from the floor for the game.

All-American guard Casey Jacobson struggled from the field, shooting just 7-18 to finish with 17 points.

In the second half, again it was the 5-foot-9 Granville and the 6-foot-9 Clancy that came up huge, orchestrating the Trojan defense and not allowing Stanford to get many open looks.

The Cardinal pulled to within 14 with 11:52 left on a put-back by freshman center Rob Little, but Stanford committed its tenth foul seconds later, putting the Trojans in the double bonus for the remainder of the game.

USC kept up the defensive intensity, and the Trojans put the game away halfway through the second half en route to a 103-78 victory and a date with Oregon in the semifinals tonight.