Taj Gibson had 21 points and 16 rebounds, Daniel Hackett made four free throws in the last 3.8 seconds, and USC never trailed in beating California, 79-75, tonight in the quarterfinals of the Pacific 10 Conference tournament.

Freshman DeMar DeRozan added 17 points, 11 rebounds and three blocked shots and Hackett had 15 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for the sixth-seeded Trojans (19-12), who earned a berth in Friday night's semifinals and greatly enhanced their NCAA tournament chances.

Jerome Randle led third-seeded California (22-10) with 18 points. Patrick Christopher added 15 points, freshman Jorge Gutierrez scored a career-high 14 before fouling out with 30.5 seconds left, and Theo Robertson added 13 for the Bears, who barely lost despite being outrebounded 53-27.

Entering the tournament, the sixth seed had a 2-11 record in first-round action and had lost six straight, but the Trojans held on after leading by as many as 18 points. USC is 6-6 in games decided by five points or less.

A 3-pointer by Dwight Lewis with 47.8 seconds remaining gave the Trojans a 75-70 lead, but a 3-pointer by Robertson and a runner by Randle tied the game for the first and only time with 19.6 seconds left.

Hackett made two foul shots with 3.8 seconds to play, and the Bears then committed just their fifth turnover. Hackett made two more free throws with 1.8 seconds left to complete the scoring.

Lewis had made only 3-of-17 shots before hitting his key 3-pointer, giving him 11 points.

The Bears outscored the Trojans 9-3 to start the second half to draw within nine points, but baskets by Gibson and DeRozan and a 3-pointer by Lewis made it 52-36.

But the Bears bounced back, outscoring the Trojans 21-6 to draw within one point with 10:21 remaining. Christopher scored 10 points and Robertson added six during the run.

The Trojans got baskets from Gibson and Marcus Simmons to extend their lead to 62-57. Neither team led by more than six points after that.

The Trojans took a 15-3 lead in the first five minutes, getting a field goal from each of their five starters -- three from 3-point range. The Bears shot 1-for-8 to begin the game.

USC kept the pressure on by dominating the backboards behind Gibson and DeRozan and keeping Cal's 3-point shooters from getting open looks. The Bears entered as the country's best 3-point shooting team at 43.8 percent, but missed their first eight before Randle connected with five seconds left before halftime, trimming USC's lead to 42-27.

USC shot 42.6 percent including 5-of-11 from 3-point range. Cal shot 56.3 percent in the second half and wound up 7-for-20 from beyond the arc.

The teams split during the regular season, with USC winning 73-62 and Cal prevailing 81-78 in overtime.

Lakers owner and USC alumnus Jerry Buss attended the game wearing a USC windbreaker and jeans. Trojans football coach Pete Carroll was also on hand.