Davis hits 50-footer to lift Stanford past Trojans, 77-76 (Jan 07, 2018)
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) Deajon Davis acted like it was no big deal. That's because he was unaware of what he had just achieved.
Davis hit a desperation 50-foot 3-pointer at the buzzer and Stanford shocked USC 77-76 on Sunday night.
''I knew we were down by two but I didn't realize we had won the game,'' Davis said. ''To be honest I didn't know what was happening until I saw my teammates coming at me.''
Jordan McLaughlin, who scored 16 points and recorded seven assists, had given the Trojans a 76-74 edge with 1.7 seconds left on an acrobatic shot under the basket. Davis took the inbound pass, dribbled twice and let it fly, hitting nothing but net as time expired.
''I saw the tough shot he made and all I was thinking was how much time we had,'' Davis said. ''I saw 1.7 and realized I was on the left side, which is easier for me. I know my shot bends from that side and I knew it had a chance.''
Davis also had six assists but five turnovers and said that was unacceptable. ''I know the shot doesn't really make up for the turnovers,'' he said.
That's when Reid Travis leaned over and patted him on the back. ''He didn't have to do anything else and that shot made him the MVP of the game,'' Travis said.
Travis scored 18 of his career-high 29 points in the second half for the Cardinal, who were coming off a double-overtime victory over UCLA. Michael Humphrey added 15 points.
''We locked in on defense,'' Travis said. ''They were getting their 3s and we wanted to take them away. They were also getting a lot of offensive rebounds on us.''
Kezie Okpala, who finished with 11, tied the game at 72 with a jumper and Davis hit a driving jumper to put Stanford (8-8, 2-1 Pac-12) up 74-72 with 1:43 left to play.
Chimezie Metu, who scored 20 points, tied the game 20 seconds later with a short jumper at the basket.
Earlier, Metu got a dunk to open the second half and give the Trojans a 13-point edge. The Cardinal rallied to within 51-49 with 16:39 remaining to play.
USC (11-6, 2-2) rebuilt its advantage to 15 points six minutes later. The Cardinal weren't going anywhere though.
''Never lost like that before,'' Trojans coach Andy Enfield said. ''We made one with 1.7 left and they made one with no time left and it was just an unbelievable shot. Tough way to lose a basketball game. We got a crucial stop defensively, Jordan made a nice move to the basket, scored, only 1.7 seconds left, so you figure you have a pretty good chance of winning at that point but it happened so fast and the kid made a heck of a shot.''
Stanford took a nine-point lead in the first five minutes but the Trojans quickly turned that around and opened a 47-36 halftime advantage.
MAPLES JINX
The Trojans have lost four straight at Stanford and are 2-13 over their past 15 visits. Stanford has won six of the past seven meetings overall. The Cardinal seniors have never lost at home to USC.
BIG PICTURE
USC: Senior point guard Jordan McLaughlin, who leads the Pac-12 with eight assists a game, is all over the school's all-time lists in both assists and steals. He's also on several watch lists. He's one of the main reasons the Trojans have improved their record every season.
Stanford: Freshman Kezie Okpala has appeared in the past four games and started the last three. He's considered a key to the Cardinal's future with freshmen guards Daejon Davis and Isaac White and freshman forward Oscar Da Silva. At times, coach Jarod Haase has all four on the court at the same time.
UP NEXT
USC: Hosts Colorado on Wednesday.
Stanford: Plays at Washington State on Thursday.
