USC doesn’t show much pep

USC got back on the winning track Monday night, but you’d never know it by visiting the Trojans’ locker room.

Point guard Daniel Hackett sat with his head in his hands, refusing to discuss the Trojans’ 91-77 victory over Pepperdine, and other players wore similarly long expressions after the game at the Galen Center.

“It’s really getting kind of frustrating with the second-half collapses,” guard Dwight Lewis said after the Trojans lost nearly all of their 23-point halftime lead.

A second half marked by turnovers, defensive breakdowns and red-hot three-point shooting by Pepperdine took the joy out of what started as a great night for the Trojans.

Despite a one-point defeat at Oklahoma on Dec. 4, USC had come into the first of four consecutive home games buoyed by its performance against the Sooners.

The Trojans had used the 10 days to polish their strong points and shore up their weaknesses. But Coach Tim Floyd looked anything but refreshed after watching his team almost give away a victory to a Pepperdine team that made seven of 12 three-point shots in the second half.

“I’m not sure we really know how to win yet,” said Floyd, whose team improved to 6-3.

The Trojans believed their strong second-half play at Oklahoma had cured them of the collapses that cost them against Seton Hall and Missouri at the Puerto Rico Tip-Off in November.

But once again they were plagued by miscues in the final 30 minutes.

Hackett, who had 16 points, six assists and six steals, had ended the first half with consecutive three-pointers for a 54-31 lead. But he and fellow point guard Donte Smith ultimately combined for 10 of the Trojans’ 20 turnovers.

The Trojans also seemed to ease up on defense, giving Pepperdine open shots that the Waves knocked down with growing confidence as the second half progressed.

USC forward Taj Gibson said the turnovers were not always the result of bad passes. Often, it was not enough effort by players on the receiving end.

“We had them down at halftime and then some guys got lackadaisical,” said Gibson, who scored a game-high 25 points and had 11 rebounds. “Toward the end we kind of locked down on defense but come Pac-10, we can’t let that happen.

“That’s a good team, but that’s not a Pac-10 team.”

Pepperdine came out firing from long range after the break, guards Keion Bell and Lorne Jackson and forward Mychel Thompson making three-pointers as the Waves cut the lead to 58-50. The deficit was only five points, 67-62, after Dane Suttle made a three-pointer with 9:30 remaining

But a Lewis free throw put the Trojans up by six, a margin the Waves ultimately could not overcome.

Bell finished with a team-high 18 points for the Waves, who shot 50% from the field and 58% from three-point range in the second half.

“If we continue to play like we did in the first half, we are going to struggle this year,” said Pepperdine Coach Tom Asbury, whose team fell to 1-9 with its ninth consecutive loss. “If we play like we did in the second half, we will be all right.”

Etc.

Earlier in the day, the NCAA cleared 6-10 freshman Nikola Vucevic after a lengthy review of his amateur status. Vucevic, 18, had played in a few games for a professional club team in Montenegro. He made his USC debut midway through the first half and finished with two points and two rebounds in six minutes. . . . Guard Marcus Simmons, who returned to the team Friday after telling Floyd on Monday that he would transfer, missed his only field-goal attempt in eight minutes. . . . Reserve guard Percy Miller did not suit up because of a concussion, an athletic department official said.

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gary.klein@latimes.com

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USC up next

VS. NORTH DAKOTA ST.

Saturday, noon, Galen Center: The Trojans play the second of four consecutive home games before opening play in the Pacific 10 Conference on Jan. 2 at Oregon. North Dakota State guard Ben Woodside scored 60 points in a 112-111 triple- overtime loss to Stephen F. Austin on Friday. The Bison defeated Georgia Southern, 98-77, on Saturday and are 5-3 heading into Thursday’s game against Valley City (N.D.) State.

-- Gary Klein