Trojans Go Distance to Defeat Gonzaga : College basketball: They use three-pointers to rally from 10-point deficit and win, 77-59.

USC waited more than 11 minutes before trying a three-point shot Monday night against Gonzaga at the Sports Arena, and it wasn’t until the second half that the Trojans really made use of their favorite weapon.

After trailing the West Coast Conference preseason favorite by 10 points in the first half, the Trojans rode the long-range shot and a tight defense to a 77-59 victory before 1,438.

Dating to last season, it was the Trojans’ 11th home-game victory in a row and their 20th in the last 21.

Senior guard Dwayne Hackett triggered the rally that broke the game open early in the second half, making two of the four three-pointers the Trojans sank in a two-minute burst. For the game, he made five of seven three-pointers.

The Trojans trailed, 36-32, before a 19-1 run overwhelmed the Bulldogs.

Even in the first half when USC trailed, 31-21, Coach George Raveling saw improvement over his team’s defeat at Ohio State.

“We made a few adjustments at halftime and really went to the boards,” Raveling said. “We had 24 offensive rebounds, the most we ever had since I’ve been here.

“I really thought Lorenzo Orr played well. He didn’t score a lot of points (nine), but he kept the ball alive and did a job for us.

“I really thought this would be a tougher game than Ohio State. The Bulldogs were picked by six publications to win the WCC. They are a veteran team and they control the ball well. . . . But I think we wore them down physically with our superior athletic ability.”

Raveling said it was by choice that he had his team neglect the three-point shot that they tried 58 times during their first two games.

“Andy Greer (assistant coach) told us to look for the two-point shot,” said Hackett, who had 20 points. “But I didn’t realize we didn’t try any for almost 12 minutes.

“When we were behind in the second half, I knew it was time to start throwing up the long ones. Then we broke the game open.”

Hackett made the Trojans’ first three-point try to give USC a 17-14 lead. But Jamie Dudley, a 5-9 senior guard from Pacific Palisades, came off the bench and made four points in a 10-0 run that put Gonzaga on top. With 2:29 left in the half, USC trailed, 31-21.

The Trojans benefited when Gonzaga’s 6-9 Jeff Brown got in early foul trouble. After making the first two shots of the second half, Brown made three offensive fouls and fouled out with 9:36 minutes left. Until Dudley made a jumper with less than nine minutes to play, Brown’s baskets were Gonzaga’s only second-half field goals.