The Galen Center was going crazy for their Trojans, 77-64 victors over Stanford in what might well have been the final home game for O.J. Mayo, Davon Jefferson and Taj Gibson. But Cardinal coach Trent Johnson, 100 feet and a world apart, stood alone outside Stanford’s locker room. He crossed his arms, paced back and forth and tried to come to grips with what he just saw.

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Lawrence Hill is fourth on the team in points and third in rebounds per game heading into the postseason. #gallery http://daily.stanford.edu/image/full/8739
Jeff Keacher.

Lawrence Hill is fourth on the team in points and third in rebounds per game heading into the postseason.

USC (20-10, 11-7 Pac-10), quicker than the Cardinal (24-6, 13-5) at every position, used that speed advantage to drive into the lane against Stanford’s backcourt with impunity, dishing to open teammates for easy buckets when the defense collapsed. Mayo, one of the nation’s most-hyped freshman, led the way with 25 points, but four Trojans reached double figures, and USC out-rebounded Stanford 47-31 in a game they just seemed to want more.

“I don’t like losing,” said a testy coach Johnson, whose team has dropped two straight for the first time since its road trip to L.A. last season. “That’s the bottom line.”

Mayo (25 points, 16 after halftime, and 8 rebounds) ensured Stanford’s defeat with a sublime stretch of play eight minutes into the second half. First, he pick-pocketed senior forward Fred Washington (no points, 3 fouls, 6 minutes) for an uncontested dunk, then he found forward Davon Jefferson (11 points) for an alley-oop that earned a standing ovation, and, for a finale, added a jumper of his own. The 7-0 run put USC ahead 58-45 with 9:22 to go, and Stanford would come no closer than 9 the rest of the way.

“I know everyone’s going to say and think this, but I don’t think it was letdown,” said junior point guard Mitch Johnson, whose squad lost a shot at the Pac-10 regular season championship in a Thursday night overtime heartbreaker at UCLA. “Today was its own game, and no one spoke about UCLA. They just came out as aggressors and hit big shots.”

Stanford was clobbered down low when the contest was still in doubt in the first half. USC outrebounded the Cardinal 25-12 and 10-2 on the offensive glass and outscored Stanford 22-10 in the paint on the half. Center Taj Gibson (20 points, 9-of-13 shooting, 11 rebounds) led the way with 12 points and 6 rebounds.

“Our biggest positive is rebounding, and today was not a good day in that department,” said Mitch Johnson (3 points, 1-of-6 shooting). “That’s our staple: defense, but really, really rebounding. I bet every game we’ve won against a good team, we outrebounded them, but we got our butts kicked today.”

The Trojans deployed a turnover-inducing full-court press and employed constant dribble-drive penetration to jump to a 20-6 lead. Junior walk-on guard Kenny Brown (19 points, 6-of-12, 4-of-8 deep) hit two threes and a layup to propel Stanford to an 11-1 run, closing the deficit to 23-19 11 minutes in. But forward Dwight Lewis’ (12 points) three with 10 seconds left in the first period gave the Trojans a 39-31 halftime lead they would not relinquish.

“I don’t know if we were necessarily tired,” Mitch Johnson said. “I just don’t think we were reading and reacting. I think we started thinking too much.”

Trent Johnson was whistled for a technical with USC ahead 73-60 and 1:13 remaining; it was his third of the season. Visibly frustrated after the game, he asked his staff to track down Bill McCabe, the Pac-10 Coordinator of Men’s Basketball Officiating.

Stanford has now lost nine straight in the greater Los Angeles area, with its last win in L.A. coming three years ago. The Cardinal will look to snap that streak this Thursday night, when it enters the Pac-10 Tournament as the No. 2 seed.

The team will face the winner of today’s bout between Arizona (18-13, 8-10) and Oregon State (6-24, 0-18) at the Staples Center at 8:30 p.m. If the seedings hold up, Stanford will face Washington State (23-7, 11-7) in Friday’s 8:30 p.m. semi-final, and will get another shot at UCLA (28-3, 16-2) in Sunday’s 3 p.m. final.

“I am very confident in this team’s resiliency,” Brown said. “That’s different than some of our other teams. We will take upon ourselves to be accountable for this loss.”