Stewart Is a Big Shot Producer

Lodrick Stewart would rather talk about the career-high six assists he had Friday against Oregon. He still considers himself a passer before a scorer.

“We have plenty of guys who can score,” Stewart said.

But the sophomore guard can’t hide the fact he is on an offensive roll for the Trojans. His 25 points against the Ducks were two shy of his personal best. And it marked the fifth time in the last nine games he has scored 20 or more.

Stewart is averaging 15.3 points, tops on the Trojans. But in the last nine games he has averaged 18.1 points.

“The coaches want me to shoot more,” Stewart said after Saturday’s late afternoon practice. “But I like passing. I like letting the game come to me, not forcing anything.”

Coach Jim Saia agrees with Stewart that USC has “plenty of pieces” on offense. “But Lodrick ... for whatever reason really believes in our system. He’s really focused.

“I told him when I first took over that if he passes up a shot, that’s when I’m going to get mad. I want him taking good shots, but his job is to shoot. If he’s passing up open shots, to me that’s like a turnover.”

Since he has stepped up his point production, Stewart said he has noticed that teams are throwing different and varied defenses at him. But he feels more comfortable against Pacific 10 Conference competition now after enduring the ups-and-downs of his freshman season.

“I’m seeing more box-and-ones, double teams when I touch the ball, anything they can do to stop me,” he said. “But if they double-team me, someone else is open.

“But I also kind of know what to expect. I’ve played against all the players, know them real well. And I keep telling our freshmen how different Pac-10 is from [nonconference]. Even when we got up late in the game, we had to keep playing. But we had a couple of mental lapses.”

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When the Trojans went to zone defenses on Saturday, the three-point shooting of Oregon guards Aaron Brooks and Bryce Taylor hurt them. The Ducks made 11 of 20 from three-point range.

USC better be prepared today for another long-distance barrage. Oregon State attempted a season-high 16 three-pointers in its Friday win against UCLA and made 10. Senior forward J.J. Nash made all five of his shots.

Saia has been patient with the Trojans’ defensive effort since coming back from Hawaii on Christmas Eve. But he is now ready to demand more from his team.

“I felt the last two games our defense was not up to par,” Saia said. “In Hawaii we were tired with the third game [in three days]. And Oregon presents a lot of problems because they play like no other team plays.

“But now we need to get back to where we were. Our post guys need to help a little more on shooters. We need to get through screens quicker. When we’re standing up and straight-legged, not reacting, we’re a split-second too late. And that’s what happened [Friday].”

At the same time, Saia is wary of overextending his young guards, especially Gabe Pruitt, who had a couple of critical turnovers late in the Oregon game.

“Gabe is a freshman and he has to go through the learning curve,” Saia said. “I know he’s going to come out of it and play like he can. I’m not worried about him.”

TODAY

at Oregon State, 2 p.m.

Site -- Gill Coliseum, Corvallis, Ore.

Radio -- KMPC (1540).

Records -- Trojans 7-5, 0-1; Beavers 9-3, 1-0.

Update -- Oregon State’s victory over UCLA on Friday meant the Beavers won a Pac-10 opener for the first time since 1995. Oregon State is also on a four-game winning streak for the first time since the middle of the 2002-03 season. USC, on the other hand, has a streak it wants to end. The Trojans have not won on the road since beating Oregon State here last March.