Vucevic Leads USC Over Cal, 78-75

Berkeley, CA (Sports Network) - Nikola Vucevic registered a double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds as the USC Trojans held on to defeat the California Golden Bears, 78-75, in Pac-10 Conference action at Haas Pavilion. Maurice Jones came up with a team-best 22 points on 5-of-6 shooting beyond the arc for the Trojans (14-12, 6-7 Pac-10) as they recorded their second win in three tries. Alex Stepheson had a double-double of his own for the visitors with 10 points and a team-best 11 boards.

The Golden Bears (13-13, 6-8) were paced by Mark Sanders-Frison with 23 points and 11 rebounds as the team fell for the fourth straight game. Harper Kamp had a double-double as well with 16 points and 10 boards, while double-digit scorers included Jorge Gutierrez with 13 points and both Brandon Smith and Jeff Powers with 10 apiece. Cal made a total of just six field goals in the first half, converting a mere 1-of-6 behind the three-point line, leaving the hosts with a 33-22 deficit at the break.

In the second half the Bears rebounded with 57.6 percent accuracy from the floor and 11-of-12 at the charity stripe, but it simply wasn't enough as USC slipped by with the three-point road win. The Trojans hit on just 16-of-26 shots at the free-throw line, but the team made up for it with an 8-of-13 effort beyond the arc on the night.

For more information on tonight's game, be sure to read Conquest Chronicles.

USC Seeks Rare Road Win Against Cal At Haas Pavilion

The USC Trojans head to Haas Pavilion in Berkeley tonight to face the Cal Bears looking for the rarest of things: a road victory in the Pac-10. USC is 1-4 on the road in conference this season after finishing 2-7 in each of the last two years. The Trojans are just 5-19 in their last 24 Pac-10 road games.

USC has lost each of their last three trips to Berkeley, and is 3-15 in their last 18 games at Haas Pavilion. Cal beat the Trojans 68-66 on January 22 at Galen Center in Los Angeles. USC has a big opportunity this weekend to avoid playing on the first day of the Pac-10 tournament next month. The Trojans are in eighth place in the conference, but just a half game behind both Cal and Stanford for fifth place. In the Pac-10 tourney, the top six seeds get a bye to the second day while the 7-10 teams duke it out.

Here are tonight's probable starting lineups:

USC (13-12, 5-7)

• Guard: Jio Fontan
• Guard: Maurice Jones
• Guard: Marcus Simmons
• Forward: Alex Stephenson
• Forward: Nikola Vucevic

Cal (13-12, 6-7)

• Guard: Jorge Gutierrez
• Guard: Brandon Smith
• Guard: Allen Crabbe
• Forward: Harper Kamp
• Center: Markhuri Sanders-Frison
  

For more information on tonight's game, be sure to read Conquest Chronicles.