By: Ben Leonard

STANFORD, CA–

The USC Media Guide says right front and center that “Youth Will Be Served.” Eleven of the Trojans’ fourteen players are either freshman or sophomores, and they sure looked young when they were served 70-62 by a struggling Stanford squad, one that has lost its last two games, including one to lowly Washington State. As star guard Chasson Randle put it, the Cardinal has “faced some adversity in the past couple games” but Stanford had “to fight through it…no matter if the shots are falling” or not.

The Trojans were up six points at half time, and controlled most of the game, yet couldn’t handle the heat of the second half. USC lost another heartbreaker Sunday, just three days after loosing on a buzzer beater from Cal’s Tyrone Wallace. The Trojans dropped to 1-10 in Pac-12 play, while the Cardinal moved to 7-4 in-conference.

The Trojans’ ridiculous first half shooting was difficult for the Cardinal to overcome, at least for the first period. USC made an absurd 57.1% (8-14) of their three-point attempts in the half, clearly an aberration given they had shot a lowly 30.7% from long range coming into Sunday. This incredible effort, coupled with a poor shooting first half, put the Cardinal down 39-33 at half time.

Guards Jordan McLaughlin and Katin Reinhardt led the way in the period for the Trojans, each scoring 14 points in the period. Head coach Johnny Dawkins lauded both McLaughlin and Reinhardt, calling them a “terrific young players” that are “going to have really good Pac-12 careers.” The Cardinal simply could not match the precocious Reinhardt, McLaughlin, and the Trojans’ shooting prowess in the first half, making just 4 of their 14 attempts from long range in that time.

The Trojans clearly could not carry this same level of success into the second half, and dropped off significantly, getting outscored 37-23 in the second half. As Dawkins put it, his team made some adjustments, “clos[ing] out a little longer [and] mak[ing] sure they couldn’t catch and shoot it” in an effort to break up the Trojans’ “comfort level.” After making these adjustments of “press[ing] up a bit and go[ing] over ball screens,” his very defense was very “active, g[etting] a lot of deflections.”

Marcus Allen led the way for the Cardinal in the second half, scoring 6 of his 10 points in the period. As Randle put it, Allen was the “spark plug” that “did it for us (Stanford) on the boards and finishing at the rim.” Adding in his eleven rebounds, Allen picked up his first career double-double.

Allen is certainly not known for his rebounding ability, listed at just 6’3″ and 190 pounds. Even Allen said that he “didn’t know [he] had that many rebounds.” Allen’s surprise performance certainly buoyed the sinking Cardinal, as Randle put it,”getting the guys energized [and] hyped up” despite their recent struggles. As Dawkins put it, Allen has been “getting more comfortable in his role, finding out what he can accomplish out there…once he puts it all together, he has a chance to have a terrific career for us.”

Stanford finally took a 44-43 lead with 13:49 left in second half on Chasson Randle’s impressive drive-in layup, swinging the lead and momentum in the Cardinal’s favor. Randle was more impressed with “the win” than his 8-8 effort from the free-throw line, making up for a game that Dawkins called not “his best.” Randle did score 17 points for the Cardinal, but only had 4 of his 12 attempts from the field. Dawkins called it a “team win” in which “guys stepped up,” especially relishing seeing “Marcus [Allen] get a double double.”  Dawkins noted that the energy level was up from the UCLA game, in which the Cardinal “didn’t play with the level of intensity that I (Dawkins) like.”

The Trojans were down only four points going into the final minute of the game, but Randle certainly “kept fighting.”After a replay review that gave USC the ball, his steal on a poor, freshman mistake pass with just over a minute left and the Cardinal up 65-61 sealed the victory, allowing Stanford to run out the clock and take free throws. Anthony Brown was fouled by Elijah Stewart with 33.5 seconds to play on a three point attempt, knocking Stewart and the Trojans out of the game.

Notes: Dawkins reflected on the passing of longtime UNC head coach Dean Smith, who passed away late Saturday night. Smith won two national championships at UNC, and recruited Dawkins out of high school. According to Dawkins, Smith trul helped them (his players) become men…sometimes we lose the fact that we’re mentoring young men.” Smith was an “example of how it should be done” and will certainly “be missed.”

The Cardinal will travel to Salt-Lake City to take on the Utah Utes on Thursday. Randle noted that if the Cardinal keep up the same effort that “helped us (Stanford) win this game…we’ll be alright.” If the youthful Trojans tested the Cardinal, the #13 Utes will certainly be a major step up.