USC basketball: Trojans up big on Stanford at halftime, 37-22 | The Fabulous Forum | Los Angeles Times

USC is torching the nets, Stanford is laying bricks.

And the first half between them has been one entire run...by the Trojans, who lead 37-22 Thursday night at the Galen Center and were up at one point by 20 points.

The Trojans shot a blistering 53.6% (15 for 28) in the first half, while Stanford couldn't find water from the beach, missing 24 of 32 shots (25%).

USC's defense is playing well, and in spurts has played very well, but Stanford is also just playing terribly. 

The Trojans essentially have a seven-man rotation now that freshman guardBryce Joneswill be transferring,which he decided Monday, and all seven players have scored. Junior forwardNikola Vucevicleads USC with 10.

By the 8:47 mark, USC led, 18-5, following a two-handed slam by Vucevic that capped a 10-0 run. Stanford promptly called a timeout, likely to figure out why it had missed 14 of its first 16 shots.

Meantime, the pro-Trojans Galen Center crowd applauded the Trojans as they walked to their huddle, finally playing the defense they showed glimpses of in impressive wins over Texas and Tennessee. 

Post-timeout, USC's barrage continued.

Stanford finally hit a shot, but then USC'sMarcus SimmonsandMaurice Joneshit consecutive three-point jumpers to give USC a 24-8 lead with 6:59 left. Stanford'sAnthony Brownscored with 6:57 left, finally breaking the double-digit barrier for the Cardinal. 

USC's lead reached 20 when Vucevic hit a turnaround jumper from about 15 feet with 3:18 left. 

Stanford closed the half on a 9-4 run, which probably has USC CoachKevin O'Neillfuming in the locker room. That, and his team committed seven first-half turnovers. 

But aside from that, USC has played pretty well, out-rebounding Stanford 23-14. USC junior guardJio Fontanhas seven points, senior forwardAlex Stephesonhas six. 

Oh, there was one slightly awkward moment regarding the recently announced-to-be-transferred Jones. 

The freshman guard was still included in USC's pre-game video that showed on its center-hung scoreboard. 

--Baxter Holmes

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