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.
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.
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.
