Like Thursday, the USC Trojans kept the game close but in the end didn't have enough, falling on Saturday 51-43 to the Stanford Cardinal at Maples Pavilion in Palo Alto. The loss snapped a three-game winning streak by the Trojans over the Cardinal, and dropped USC to 0-2 in Pac-12 Conference play.
The Trojans, like Thursday night at Cal, managed to cut the Stanford lead to three points with 5:05 remaining in the game, but USC never got closer. The Trojans shot just 34.8% from the field, and shot themselves in the foot by missing eight of their 17 free-throw attempts.
Alexis Moore led the Trojans in scoring with 12 points, including a pair of three-pointers. Dewayne Dedmon added 10 points for USC. Maurice Jones scored four points, making just one of 12 shots from the field and only two of six from the charity stripe.
USC (5-10, 0-2) ended the month of December with a dreadful 1-6 record, including three straight defeats to end the month. The Trojans averaged just 51.7 points per game and shot just 36.8% from the field for the month. They were held under 50 points in five of their seven games in December.
Aaron Bright led Stanford (12-2, 2-0) with 16 points. Josh Owens added 12 points for the Cardinal.
The Trojans return home to host the Arizona schools next weekend, beginning with a Thursday night matchup with the Arizona State Sun Devils at Galen Center.
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