LOS ANGELES — Drew Peterson finished with 14 points and seven rebounds, but it wasn't enough as No. 15 USC men's basketball took a 64-61 loss at home to Stanford on Thursday night.
Peterson was also 3-for-3 from the 3-point line. Boogie Ellis contributed 11 points and Isaiah Mobley dished a career-high nine assists while scoring nine points with seven boards.
The Cardinal (12-6, 5-3 Pac-12) had already handed the Trojans (17-3, 7-3 Pac-12) their first loss of the season in the Jan. 11 meeting in Palo Alto. USC remains a game behind first place in the Pac-12 standings despite Thursday's setback.
Stanford hit four early 3-pointers that gave the Cardinal a nine-point lead in the game's first five minutes. The Cardinal held control until an emphatic dunk from Kobe Johnson sparked a 17-2 Trojan run in the final seven minutes of the first half.
KOBE COMING THRUUUU
📺: @FS1 pic.twitter.com/M11GMCKIQ4
— USC Men's Basketball (@USC_Hoops) January 28, 2022
USC had entered the locker room with a 34-28 halftime lead.
The Trojans retained the lead well into the second half, but a seven-minute scoring drought late in the game spelled USC's doom while Stanford regained the lead with an 8-0 run.
A baseline jumper from Max Agbonkpolo and a corner 3-pointer from Peterson tied the game at 60 with 41.2 seconds remaining, but the Cardinal countered with Harrison Ingram's layup.
Tie game.
41.2 seconds to go.
📺: @FS1
📱: https://t.co/WYTZYok6XT pic.twitter.com/AVrFt2OlUA— USC Men's Basketball (@USC_Hoops) January 28, 2022
Mobley was fouled with 14 seconds left with an opportunity to tie the game but missed the second free throw. After Brandon Angel sank a pair of foul shots, Mobley missed a 3-pointer in the final seconds that would have sent the game in overtime.
The Cardinal converted a blistering 9-of-21 from the 3-point line while outrebounding the Trojans, 29-27.
Jaiden Delaire finished with a team-high 14 points for Stanford, which trails USC by a game in the conference standings.
The Trojans conclude their homestand on Saturday against California (4:00 p.m. PT, Pac-12 Networks). USC heads to the desert next week to visit Arizona State and No. 3 Arizona before returning to Galen Center for its home meeting against No. 7 UCLA.