Fred Washington said he’d never seen Stanford shoot so poorly.

As for coach Trent Johnson? He was just happy to see his squad win.

In a game that Johnson called a “gut check,” the Cardinal faced a USC team fresh off a disappointing ten-point loss to Cal two days before. Stanford had its own defeat to rectify, having bowed to No. 5 UCLA 76-67 the same night.

It wasn’t pretty, but the Cardinal came out on top, 52-46, Saturday evening in a game marred by dreadful shooting and myriad turnovers. No. 24 Stanford (12-2, 1-1 Pac-10) won despite shooting only 27 percent from the field, employing a stalwart defense that forced 23 Trojan turnovers.

“We found a way, and I guess that’s all that matters,” Johnson said. “We didn’t have a lot of shots go down, but guys kept grinding.”

Washington, the senior guard, started for the first time in five games in order to defend heralded freshman O.J. Mayo. Mayo, who was averaging 20 points per game, led No. 22 USC (9-5, 0-2) with 14 points, but shot just five-for-19 from the field and committed five turnovers.

“What you’ve got to do is bother him,” Washington said. “He can shoot or take it off the dribble. You just have to try to make him work.”

Taj Gibson added 11 points, nine rebounds and four blocks for the Trojans, who were held to their lowest point total of the season.

“As coach said, this is a testament to our defense,” Washington added. “We should do that every game here on out. Offense is going to come and go … but the defense should be there the entire time.”

Saturday, the offense wasn’t there for either team. Stanford’s shooting performance was its worst in nearly eight years. The Trojans shot slightly better at 35.7 percent from the field, but made only two of 12 three-point attempts. Both teams combined for 42 turnovers and 39 fouls, while the Cardinal out rebounded USC 48-31.

“I thought our guys were really resilient,” Johnson said. “It was a very physical game from start to finish.”

Guard Anthony Goods led Stanford with 11 points on three-for-11 shooting from the field, while forward Lawrence Hill chipped in seven points and 13 rebounds off the bench.

“I definitely had to go out and make up for having zero [rebounds] on Thursday,” Hill deadpanned afterwards, eliciting a chuckle from his coach.

Stanford led 28-26 at halftime thanks largely to its defense, which forced 13 turnovers in the first half. The Cardinal took an eight-point lead in the opening stanza following a 9-2 run with nine minutes left, but USC responded with a 12-3 run of its own as Mayo finally found his stroke.

Stanford seized momentum on the final play of the half, in which Robin Lopez blocked a Mayo layup, leading to a buzzer-beating, fast break layup by Kenny Brown on the other end.

Brook Lopez kept the energy in the Cardinal’s corner to start the second half with a put-back dunk for his first points of the game. Lopez finished with eight points and eight rebounds, struggling inside on 3-of-10 shooting in the face of swarming double-teams.

Stanford scored the first seven points of the half, and held its lead despite failing to make a field goal for over four straight minutes. Mayo and guard Daniel Hackett brought USC within four at the one-minute mark on a three-pointer and three-point play, respectively.

Anthony Goods, whose missed free throws allowed the Trojan’s to sneak away with a victory when the two teams met last spring in the Pac-10 tournament, made one of two from the line with 28 seconds left and the Cardinal held on for the ugly win.

For Stanford, following Thursday’s breakdowns against UCLA, any victory was welcome. It was especially sweet for senior forward Taj Finger, whose one-for-one performance from the field gave him the best shooting performance of the night.

“I like my wins like I like my women--pretty,” Finger said. “But I’ll take an ugly one or two.”