Sat Jan 19 18:20:26 2008

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USC knocks off fourth-ranked UCLA

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Los Angeles, CA (Sports Network) - Davon Jefferson poured in a game-high 25 points to go with nine rebounds, as the USC Trojans upended fourth-ranked UCLA, 72-63, at Pauley Pavilion in a game that featured two of the nation's top freshmen.

Freshman O.J. Mayo scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half, and Dwight Lewis added 11 points and five boards for the Trojans (11-6, 2-3 Pac-10), who have won two straight. Taj Gibson contributed nine points and eight rebounds, while Daniel Hackett dished out a game-high eight assists.

Josh Shipp finished 5-of-10 from beyond the arc en route to a 21-point performance for the Bruins (16-2, 4-1), who had a nine-game winning streak halted. Freshman Kevin Love posted another double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds, while Darren Collison donated 11 points in the loss.

USC opened the second half on a 7-1 run and Mayo's three-pointer put the Trojans ahead 38-33. Their lead eventually reached eight, 47-39, after Mayo drained another trey.

The Bruins then used an 18-4 run to grab a 57-51 lead with about seven minutes remaining. Trailing 47-46, Love ripped down a defensive board and made a quick outlet pass to Russell Westbrook for an easy lay-in. Later, Love capped the flurry with a three-pointer.

A slam by Mayo knotted the game 57-57 with 5:17 to play. Love hit a layup to give the Bruins a 60-58 lead, their last of the contest. After Hackett converted a pair from the charity stripe for a 60-60 deadlock, Jefferson nailed a jumper to put the Trojans in front for good.

Collison's jumper made it 64-63 with 2:03 left, but Jefferson made a pair of high-percentage shots and hit all four from the line to seal the upset.

With the score deadlocked at 11-11 in the early going, the Bruins put together an 11-2 run to forge ahead. Shipp knocked down a trey to finish the flurry with 9:06 left, giving UCLA a 22-13 lead.

Mayo's pair of free throws capped a 14-4 spurt and gave the Trojans a 27-26 edge, but the Bruins carried a slim 32-31 advantage into the break.

Game Notes

This was the 224th all-time meeting between these two programs. UCLA owns a 124-100 record in the series...USC shot a sizzling 60.9 percent (28-of-46) from the floor compared to the Bruins who made only 33.3 percent (22-of-66) of their shots...UCLA won the battle on the glass, 39-30.