By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Wednesday, January 24, 2018

photo by usctrojans.com: USC Trojans Jonah Matthews leads the Trojans in scoring on Wednesday night at the Galen Center in Los Angeles over the visiting Stanford Cardinal

Southern California won its fifth men’s basketball game in a row Wednesday at Galen Center in Los Angeles, squeaking out a 69-64 Pac-12 victory over Stanford.

Jonah Mathews scored 18 points and Chimezie Metu added 12 points and 10 rebounds, as the Trojans (16-6 overall, 7-2 Pac-12) are off to their best start in league play since 2002.

The win also puts the Trojans into a tie for first place in the Pac-12 with idle Arizona (6-1), who they lead by percentage points going into Thursday’s games.

Stanford had a chance to tie the game in the final four seconds when Daejon Davis missed a 3-point attempt. USC, which has won 10 of its last 12, closed out the game with an Elijah Stewart dunk.

Michael Humphrey made a 3-pointer and Davis had made a pair of free throws late to pull the Cardinal to within 67-64.

The Cardinal (11-10, 5-3) were led by Reid Travis, who scored 16 points. Michael Humphery and Dorian Pickens scored 14 apiece for Stanford.

Stanford trailed 41-26 at halftime, but put together a 15-7 run to open the second half, cutting the Trojans’ lead to 48-41. USC led the entire game, and were up by 10 points with 5:12 to play.

Southern California held the Cardinal to 36 percent shooting in the first half, and forced Stanford into 16 turnovers – which is what the Trojans are averaging this season. The Cardinal shot 44 percent for the game.

Up Next: Stanford’s Los Angeles trip concludes on Saturday, when the Cardinal visit UCLA.