[0] NOT UP FOR GRABS STANFORD ROMPS DESPITE USC `CLUTCH' EFFORT STANFORD 111, USC 68.

Byline: Scott Wolf Staff Writer

STANFORD - USC was so desperate for ways to stop No. 1-ranked Stanford on Thursday night, injured forward Jarvis Turner lunged off the bench in street clothes and grabbed Cardinal guard Casey Jacobsen by the shorts.

Turner's ploy didn't work and he was quickly assessed a technical foul by the officials.

But nothing else the Trojans tried was successful either, as the Cardinal breezed to a 111-68 victory before 7,391 at Maples Pavilion.

Turner's antics, which looked more like something out of a cartoon or Marx Brothers movie, at least provided some entertainment to the lopsided game. And it was the first play he's made in nearly five weeks since fracturing his left ankle.

The other news of the night was that USC forward Sam Clancy (broken right foot) made his debut. Clancy played five minutes in the first half and did not score but had a rebound and a steal. He scored a pair of baskets early in the second half and appeared to be in decent shape, considering he had not played since breaking his foot Jan. 20 against Arizona State.

Otherwise, it was a dismal - though not unexpected - result for the Trojans (14-13, 7-8), who likely saw their NCAA hopes vanish with the loss.

USC's best bet is to finish the season with three victories and then pray on Selection Sunday that a 17-13 record would somehow be good enough to earn an at-large bid. And there's always the National Invitation Tournament, but that's not much reward for a team that was 6-1 in conference before Clancy and Turner went down with injuries.

For a brief moment, things got really scary for the Trojans, when forward Brian Scalabrine left the game in the first half with a right-hip flexor. He did not play in the second half but is expected to be available for Saturday's contest at California.

The Trojans, who upset Stanford here last year 86-82, never came close this time. When Brandon Granville hit a 3-pointer two minutes into the game to give USC a 3-2 advantage, it was the Trojans' only lead of the evening.

Stanford (25-1, 14-1) took an 18-9 lead 10 minutes into the contest and the Trojans never cut the lead below double digits the rest of the game. The Cardinal ended the first half on a 20-6 run and led 57-30 at halftime, the most points the Trojans have surrendered in a half all season.

Perhaps aware of the Cardinal's depth, USC coach Henry Bibby generously used his bench. Besides Clancy, Nate Hair, Rashad Jones, Malachi Thurston and walk-on Abdullah Elmagbari all played. He also might have been trying to keep the Trojans fresh for the Cal game.

But the reserves were as ineffective as the Trojans' starters. Other than forward David Bluthenthal, who had 12 points and hit 5 of 7 shots in the first half, no other starter had a good game. USC's leading scorer, Scalabrine, made 2 of 8 shots in the half and had four points.

Granville and Jeff Trepagnier were a combined 2 for 9 from the field in the opening 20 minutes, fresh off their 4-for-18 effort last weekend against Oregon and 9-for-28 extravaganza two weeks ago at Arizona State.

The Trojans shot just 36.7 percent in the first half, while the Cardinal was shooting 52.9 percent. Harvard-Westlake graduate Jarron Collins led Stanford with 15 first-half points, and Jacobsen had 12.

Turner wasn't the only Trojan awarded a technical. Bibby also got one in the first half for complaining about a call.

The highlights in the second half were rare for USC.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo: (1 -- 2) Stanford's Casey Jacobsen maneuvers around USC's Brian Scalabrine, left. Cardinal center Jason Collins grabs rebound, above.

Paul Sakuma/Associated Press