Hackett Puts USC in Sync in 71-59 Win

USC guard Dwayne Hackett shoots three-point baskets like layups when he’s hot.

And he was Monday night when he came off the bench to make seven of 10 three-point shots to lead the Trojans to a 71-59 victory over Pepperdine in the second round of the National Invitation Tournament at the Sports Arena.

USC (18-11) will next play Minnesota in the quarterfinals Wednesday at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minn. The Gophers advanced by defeating Oklahoma, 86-72.

Hackett finished with a game-high 21 points, including a three-pointer at the halftime buzzer that gave the Trojans a 36-23 lead in front of 4,464.

“I thought we did a good job the first 10 minutes, but then we a got a bit rattled,” said Pepperdine Coach Tom Asbury, whose team finished the season with a 23-8 record. “The crowd started getting into the game, and Hackett obviously killed us with his shooting in the first half, and then he finished us off in the second.”

Pepperdine, the regular-season West Coast Conference champion, controlled the game early, taking a 17-11 lead behind inside play by Dana Jones. USC then found its rhythm to outscore the Waves, 25-6, during the final 11 minutes of the half.

Forward Lorenzo Orr, who finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds, got the Trojans going inside before Hackett took over.

Hackett, who has attempted 264 field goals this season with 231 of them being three-pointers, missed his first two shots of the game. Then, in a span of 54 seconds, he made three to give USC a 33-21 lead and then made another at the halftime buzzer.

“What did it for us was Lorenzo (Orr) with his shot blocking, rebounding and scoring, and Hackett, with his three-point shooting,” USC Coach George Raveling said. “They allowed us to separate ourselves in the game.”

USC is 40-4 at the Sports Arena since March, 1990.

The Trojans put the game away early in the second half with Hackett making three of his final four three-pointers to match his career-high with seven in a game.

“I got into a rhythm early and I never looked back,” Hackett said. “To be honest, it felt like I couldn’t miss.”

On defense, freshman point guard Burt Harris, along with Rodney Chatman, Phil Glenn and Hackett, were able to shut down Pepperdine’s backcourt of Bryan Parker and Damin Lopez. In the first half, those two Waves combined to miss all seven of their field-goal attempts and were never a major factor.

Lopez finished with 13 points, and Parker added 12.