Posted at 12:54 p.m., Saturday, January 19, 2008
CBKB: Southern California upsets No. 4 UCLA, 72-63
By BETH HARRIS
AP Sports Writer
Davon Jefferson scored 25 points and O.J. Mayo added 16 as the Trojans upset the fourth-ranked Bruins 72-63 today, ending UCLA's nine-game winning streak.
Josh Shipp led the Bruins with 21 points and freshman Kevin Love had 18 points and 12 rebounds, his ninth double-double in 18 games.
Mayo tossed the ball toward the ceiling and jumped on teammate Daniel Hackett at the buzzer. He and Love briefly embraced after the first of two meetings this season between two of the country's best freshmen.
UCLA (16-2, 4-1 Pac-10) trailed early in the second half, went on a 20-7 to take a 57-51 lead, then got outscored 21-6 over the final 6:18.
The Bruins went scoreless over the final 2 minutes.
The Trojans (11-6, 2-3) came in with less experience, but they lead the Pac-10 in field goal percentage defense and held the Bruins to 33.3 percent, their worst shooting of the season. USC shot 61 percent from the field and 71 percent from the free throw line.
UCLA's Luc Richard Mbah a Moute sustained a concussion in the first half and appeared briefly in the second half before leaving the game.
The Trojans started the second half strong, taking a 44-37 lead on seven points by Mayo and four by Jefferson. But the Bruins rallied with an 11-3 run to take their first lead of the half, 48-47, on a basket by Russell Westbrook off Love's outlet pass.
A timeout was called and Love walked to the sideline and raised his arms, exhorting the fans who were already on their feet cheering. In the run, Love had a steal and Westbrook scored four points. USC's lone basket came on a 3-pointer by Mayo over Love in front of the USC bench. Later, Love stole the ball from Mayo deep at USC's end.
The two phenoms put a show over the final 7½ minutes, alternately scoring on three consecutive possessions. Mayo's fastbreak dunk tied the game at 57. Mostly though, Taj Gibson guarded Love and Westbrook defended Mayo.
The Trojans shot 59 percent from the field in the first half and still trailed 32-31. The Bruins shot 33 percent and blew all of an eight-point lead before James Keefe's 3-pointer put them ahead going into halftime.
UCLA snapped a tie at 11 with an 11-2 run, including four straight points by Darren Collison, to take its largest lead, 22-13. Keefe scored on UCLA's fourth shot attempt on one possession and Shipp capped the spurt with a 3-pointer.
