STANFORD -- Dorian Pickens says he takes the same mentality into a game whether he's starting or coming off the bench. The statistics tell another story.
Pickens scored 22 of his career-high 25 points in the first half and Stanford won for the third time in four games, beating Southern California 84-64 on Thursday night.
With our All Access Daily newsletter, stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams!
SIGN UP HERE "He's done a good job for us coming in," Stanford coach Johnny Dawkins said. "Dorian really picked us up."
Rosco Allen scored all 17 of his points in the second half and Michael Humphrey added 10, also all in the second half, for the Cardinal (14-12, 7-8 Pac-12).
Pickens helped Stanford maintain a healthy lead even as Allen, the Cardinal's leading scorer, was limited because of early foul trouble.
"I just got it going," Pickens said. "I wanted to come out aggressively. It makes no difference to me mentally. I just happened to be on the bench at tip-off."
Pickens averages 13.8 points in nine games off the bench and 10.9 in games he starts. His previous career best was against Texas, also coming off the bench. His only career double-double, against Villanova, occurred coming off the bench.
"I call him Dorian the Laser because he's always on point," said Cardinal guard Marcus Allen, who scored 15 points. "I see it all the time and it's nice to see him put it all together in a game."
Katin Reinhardt scored 14 points to lead the Trojans (19-9, 8-7), who have lost four of five after opening conference play winning 7 of 10. Bennie Boatwright added 11 and Elijah Stewart had 10.
"We just weren't stopping them enough in the first half," Trojans coach Andy Enfield said. "They made a lot of jump shots and played very good basketball."
USC, coming off its first home loss Sunday, was held to a season-low in points and were held under 70 for the fourth time, three in its last five.
Pickens came off the bench a fourth consecutive game after 12 starts. He's averaging 16 points during that stretch.
The Trojans never got closer than 18 points in the second half as Stanford led by as many as 28 at one point.
The Trojans held an early 14-11 advantage following Reinhardt's jumper. Stanford responded with a 29-6 run to open a 20-point advantage.
Pickens hit four 3-pointers during the run, all in a span of 2 minutes, 26 minutes. He was 8 of 10 from the field, including 5 of 7 from long range. He also matched Humphrey for the team lead in rebounds with six.
"He's a terrific shooter, shot the ball at a high level," Enright said. "That's hard to do with no one in the gym with you. He did it coming off screens, with guys in his face, and he played an excellent game."
The Cardinal led at halftime, 43-25, the Trojans worst half of the season
TIP INS
Southern California: Junior Darion Clark missed his sixth straight with a shoulder injury. The Trojans have been outrebounded by nearly six boards over that time. ... The Trojans are looking for their first 20-win season in seven years with three regular season games remaining, plus tournament play.
Stanford: Dorian Pickens entered play with the largest increase in scoring average among returning Pac-12 players at a plus 9.4. He averaged 2.0 points as a freshman and was at 11.4 before Thursday. ... Rosco Allen, the Cardinal's leading scorer, ranks third in that category with a plus 8.3, going to 15.6 from 7.3.
UP NEXT
Southern California travels to California on Sunday.
Stanford hosts UCLA on Saturday.