Stewart lifts up Trojans, 67-50

Lodrick Stewart had a feeling that the mood at USC would be a little down after the football team’s loss to UCLA, so he took it upon himself to try to cheer up the Trojans student body.

Stewart set a career high with six three-point baskets and scored a season-high 21 points in a 67-50 victory over Loyola Marymount on Saturday night at the Galen Center.

It was the fifth consecutive win for USC (5-1) and gave at least one Trojans team a victory over a cross-town school.

“Our school spirit is shattered when they lose,” Stewart said about the football team. “But, you know, at least we got this one.”

Though Stewart was the catalyst on offense, USC can thank its defense, which held LMU (6-3) to 27.8% shooting -- 17.6% in the second half. The Lions went more than seven minutes at the end of the game without a field goal.

USC also forced 30 turnovers.

“That’s a big number,” USC Coach Tim Floyd said.

USC led 31-28 at halftime and extended its lead to 42-30 with 14 minutes 27 seconds left in the first half. But the Lions had come back from double-digit deficits in three of their victories this season and appeared to be making a run when they got to within six points at 42-36 with 10:18 to play. That’s when they went cold, making only two more field goals the rest of the game.

“You cannot consistently come back against good teams,” LMU Coach Rodney Tention said.

Especially when you are having trouble penetrating a defense designed to stop you from doing just that. Stewart said the Trojans’ game plan was to keep the LMU guards away from the basket. Brandon Worthy, the Lions’ leading scorer with a 20.4-points-per-game average, had only five Saturday on one-for-12 shooting.

The Trojans also drew 11 offensive fouls.

“That’s one of the things we emphasized,” Stewart said. “Their guards like to put their heads down and penetrate baseline, so when they penetrate, our big men slide over.”

Floyd said those offensive fouls were a result of an improving defensive technique.

“We were talking about playing defense with our bodies rather than reaching and grabbing and stabbing,” he said. “At the beginning of the year, we were trying to block everything. Not tonight.”

Tention, who was assessed a technical foul in the second half, wasn’t so sure all of those offensive foul calls were deserved.

“Eleven is an awful lot,” he said. “I don’t teach my kids to push off.”

Nick Young had 18 points for the Trojans, including two spectacular dunks in the final three minutes. Abdoulaye N’diaye had 12 points and nine rebounds. He was six for six from the field.

Matthew Knight led the Lions with 13 points and 13 rebounds; Adoyah Miller had 11 points.

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peter.yoon@latimes.com