USC over Oregon State 73-56

Less than a month after handing Oregon State the worst defeat in the 82-year history of the series, USC not only failed to put away the Beavers in the early going Thursday at the Galen Center but actually was tied with them early in the second half.

At that point the Trojans, who had defeated the Beavers by 45 points in Corvallis, were barely on pace to score that many in the rematch.

Then USC found its form and unleashed what seemed to be a season's worth of highlights in the last 15 minutes en route to a 73-56 victory in front of 6,934.

There was a hanging one-handed flip-in from junior guard Gabe Pruitt, a four-point play by senior guard Lodrick Stewart and a reverse over-the-shoulder layup by freshman guard Daniel Hackett.

Soon a tie turned into a 24-point bulge for the Trojans, who improved to 17-6 overall and 7-3 in the Pacific 10 Conference and were able to insert their reserves in the final four minutes. The victory allowed them to tie their total from a season ago with at least nine games left.