USC cruises by unfamiliar Longwood

You had to use both terms loosely when you called it the Las Vegas Classic.

USC’s game against Longwood on Tuesday was played about 230 miles from Las Vegas, and it hardly resembled a classic.

Nevertheless, the Trojans’ 83-53 victory before 2,381 at the Galen Center marked a big improvement over recent developments for a team still finding its way as it creeps toward Pacific 10 Conference play.

Two days after failing to score on its first eight possessions against Charleston Southern, the Trojans scored three of the first four times they had the ball and built a double-digit lead midway through the first half.

The Trojans made 73.1% of their shots (19 of 26) in taking a 21-point halftime lead that might have been 40 had they not committed 12 turnovers.

“It always looks better when you make shots, and we made shots tonight,” said USC Coach Tim Floyd, whose team shot 57.1% for the game but also committed 23 turnovers.

USC junior swingman Nick Young scored the 1,000th point of his career 59 seconds into the game on a tip-in off an inbounds pass from Daniel Hackett -- the first of the freshman guard’s career-high-tying seven assists -- and the Trojans never trailed.

Young finished with 17 points for the Trojans (9-2), whose eight-game home winning streak is their longest since they opened the 2000-01 season with 10 consecutive home victories.

“Going against a team named Longwood, that’s my first time hearing about them,” said Young, who added that it was tough to get up for another no-name opponent.

Senior guard Lodrick Stewart added 17 points and freshman forward Taj Gibson recorded his Pac-10-leading sixth double-double with 10 points on five-for-five shooting and 10 rebounds.

“A walking double-double,” Stewart said of Gibson. “That’s what he is.”

USC will play Kansas State on Friday in Las Vegas at the Orleans Arena. The Trojans could also play No. 8 Wichita State on Saturday.

“We may be the underdog in both games,” Floyd said. “I want to see how our guys go play. What we’ll see [this] weekend will be much like what we’ll see in conference play.”

Technically, Longwood (3-10) is a Division I team in the final year of a four-year reclassification to college basketball’s top level. Longwood, in Farmville, Va., is playing a full Division I schedule for the third consecutive season and anticipates Division I certification in September.

“Games like this, sometimes you wonder why you play them,” Floyd said before explaining that a team with seven freshmen needed to learn how to win.

Floyd was able to play his second- and third-stringers over the final 10:57. The reserves inherited a 34-point lead that dwindled to 25 amid a flurry of turnovers and missed shots before a late surge.

“It’s just something that we’re going to have to continue to work on,” Floyd said of the turnovers.

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Sophomore guard Sead Odzic has announced he will transfer to Illinois State and begin classes at his new school next month. He will not be able to play until the 2007-08 season.

ben.bolch@latimes.com