Trojans get set for Pac-10

In the end, Oral Roberts served its purpose.

USC needed one more tomato can before beginning Pacific 10 Conference play. A last game to work out the kinks and break a sweat without perspiring too much.

That came to pass in a 66-56 victory Sunday at the Galen Center.

The Trojans got their fourth consecutive victory and, they hope, a bounce heading into Friday’s conference opener at Oregon.

Yet, there were enough warning signs Sunday to sharpen their focus.

The Trojans (9-3) handled the Golden Eagles like the 3-11 team they are, stretching a nine-point halftime lead into a 50-32 advantage five minutes into the second half.

From there, it seemed as if the Trojans were off to conference play in their minds, milking that lead to the finish. That, too, was a lesson that one last nonconference game provided cheap enough.

“Oral Roberts is a great team, but they are not a Pac-10 team,” said center Taj Gibson, who had 16 points, eight rebounds and five blocked shots. “A Pac-10 team would have taken those open looks we allowed and made those shots. We got to put the game away. Against Pac-10 teams, if you let up, you’ll get knocked down.”

The Trojans will now try out that stand-fast attitude at one of the conference’s most brutal road settings, Oregon.

“I like our team,” Coach Tim Floyd said. “But I can tell you [California Coach] Mike Montgomery probably likes his team. The guy at Stanford probably likes his team. The guy at Arizona likes his team. And I know [UCLA Coach] Ben Howland likes his team.

“We’re going to be playing against guys who believe in their minds.”

The Trojans’ belief system didn’t suffer any crisis of confidence Sunday.

Gibson made seven of 10 shots, prompting Oral Roberts Coach Scott Sutton to say, “There is no doubt he will be a lottery pick.” Gibson’s play will become even more vital as freshman power forward Leonard Washington is out at least two weeks because of a high-ankle sprain.

Without Washington, USC was outrebounded for the first time this season, 34-32.

“We have big guards, 6 feet 5, 6 feet 6,” Gibson said about the Trojans’ rebounding. “We just have to get five guys to the ball.”

There were spotlight moments of other things USC will need in the future, all worth noting by Floyd with an eye on conference play.

Freshman DeMar DeRozan continued to stretch his game, finishing with a team-high 18 points.

He is averaging nearly 18 points in his last three games.

“DeMar is growing as a player,” Floyd said. “I’m not basing that on the fact that he has scored a few more points the last three games. I just think he has a better understanding as a player.”

Dwight Lewis tossed in 12 points but also held Robert Jarvis, Oral Roberts’ leading scorer, to seven points. Jarvis came in averaging 18 points.

“Dwight is the guy who is going to have to stop the Chase Budingers [Arizona], Josh Shipps [UCLA], James Hardens [Arizona State] of the world,” Floyd said.

Forward Marcus Johnson, a transfer from Connecticut playing his first game since becoming academically eligible, put in 19 hard minutes, with six points and three steals. It was a necessary test drive.

“He showed flashes of being a guy who can help us this year,” Floyd said. “Oregon is not the kind of place where you want to go to figure out who a guy is.”

Those things needed one last nonconference game to figure out.

Now the Trojans set about figuring out the conference.

“The last two years, we came close winning a championship,” Gibson said. “We finished in the top three. I’m anxious to get back into the conference.”

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chris.foster@latimes.com