Trojans Again Put Themselves at Disadvantage

PALO ALTO —  Not much was decided about USC’s season Saturday at Maples Pavilion other than that Stanford is decidedly better--and that the Trojans increasingly are becoming their own worst enemy.

The Cardinal beat the Trojans, 85-70, before 7,305, and once again USC was handicapped by the absence of one of its top players.

Senior Jaha Wilson, the team’s best inside player and sixth man, was suspended before the game for disciplinary reasons. Wilson said little after the game, only that “nothing happened,” and Coach Henry Bibby commented that Wilson got into a situation “that shouldn’t have happened.”

It was Wilson’s first suspension, but he is the fourth Trojan to miss a game this season because of disciplinary action by Bibby.

“In order to win we need everybody,” forward Gary Williams said. “We should be tired [of losing], but in order to win we have to do it together.”

Against a better and bigger team, USC needed Wilson, but perhaps more than that it needed to start a game without feeling hamstrung. In addition to the loss of Wilson, who played at Riordan High School in San Francisco, guard Danny Walker was unavailable because of a knee injury and Rodrick Rhodes was limited to 12 minutes--three in the second half--also because of a knee problem.

The thin team stayed with Stanford and even led, 38-37, at the half but then lost center David Crouse to fouls and had Elias Ayuso ejected after his second technical early in the second half. The game got away from them then and there.

Stanford’s 7-foot-1 center, Tim Young, dominated with Crouse out of the middle, finishing with 21, and more room was available for guard Brevin Knight to drive and either score (he finished with 27 points, including 11 for 11 on free throws) or pass (five assists.)

“[When we lost Crouse] it eliminated the people we could put on the floor. We needed someone with size,” Bibby said.

Crouse fouled out with 16 minutes left and Ayuso, who jawed with Knight before both technicals, received his second seven seconds later with Stanford ahead 49-47.

After a Stais Boseman basket tied it, Stanford, 10-2 overall and 3-1 in the Pacific 10 Conference, went on a 9-0 run and steadily increased its lead behind Young, Knight’s drives, and timely shooting by freshman David Moseley, who was five for eight on three-pointers.

“We didn’t really prepare for [Moseley],” Bibby said. “But part of being a good team is having players other teams don’t see coming into the game.”

Boseman led USC (7-5, 2-2) with 19 points but had to guard Knight most of the game, which proved too difficult a task.

Trojan Notes

Coach Henry Bibby was angry after the game because of an Orange Counter Register report Friday that detailed his contract. The information, obtained from Bibby’s divorce filing, showed Bibby’s first-year salary at USC to be worth $191,180.