Martin Shoots USC to a 118-97 Victory : College basketball: Even George Mason Coach Westhead leaves impressed by Trojans’ lively offense.

In a “defense-if-you-dare” showdown against a George Mason team coached by college basketball’s run-and-gun guru, USC showed Paul Westhead that it can score too with a 118-97 victory before 2,297 Wednesday night at the Sports Arena.

Led by hot-shooting Brandon Martin’s career-high 29 points, the Trojans had their third-highest point total ever and the most since 1970, when they defeated Alabama, 122-75.

“This was [Martin’s] type of game because everything was so wide open,” said USC Coach Charlie Parker, whose team improved to 6-1. “Brandon has gained a lot of confidence from last season. We worked very hard to convince him that he is one of purest shooters around.”

Martin, a 6-foot-4 senior, made 11 of 16 attempts from the floor, including five of eight three-point shots. This season, Martin is averaging 17.9 points and is shooting 55% from the floor, including 15 of 29 three-pointers after making only 13 of 41 last season.

“It’s more mental than physical,” he said of his strong start this season. “I’m playing stronger and I’m being more aggressive. I’m just playing my game now.”

Smiles were abundant in USC’s locker room as several players had career games, including Stais Boseman, who almost had his first triple-double with 20 points, 14 assists (tying Larry Friend’s school record) and nine rebounds.

“It was like a pickup game,” said Boseman, who had only three turnovers in 35 minutes. “It was easy [getting assists] once Brandon got hot. [Parker] told us all week to look for the open man, and that’s what happened tonight.”

As a team, USC shot 55% from the field, with Jaha Wilson making eight of 10 shots for 19 points, and Avondre Jones making nine of 13 to tie his career high with 21 points.

“I loved this game because everything was so wide open,” said Jones, who also blocked a career-high seven shots. “To tell you the truth, I never got tired out there. It was a lot of fun to play tonight.”

USC jumped ahead of the Patriots (3-3) early in taking a 27-9 lead five minutes into the game, thanks to a six-point spurt in 10 seconds during which the Trojans had two steals and two layups by Boseman and another by Wilson.

The Trojans led, 63-49, at halftime but knew that they could not relax against Westhead’s team, which came in averaging 119.6 points per game.

After USC opened a 95-72 lead with 9:01 remaining, George Mason outscored the Trojans, 22-9, to cut the lead to 104-94 with 3:50 remaining. USC then put the game away, thanks to free throws by Cameron Murray, who had a career-high eight rebounds, and Boseman, and a fastbreak dunk by Martin.

“It was one of those wild games,” Westhead said. “We got off to a bad start, but a 14-point lead is nothing. In the second half, we cut it to 10 and we needed one more to get it to single digits. But USC got a slam dunk and regrouped. That was a big switch in the game.”

George Mason was led by Nate Langley’s 29 points.

“This was a game that we showed that we can play at any pace,” said Parker, whose Trojans will play at No. 13 Utah Saturday.