USC men’s basketball: Trojans lead No. 9 Tennessee 33-20 at halftime

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In his first game in nearly two years, USC point guard Mike Gerrity doesn’t look rusty at all. Gerrity, who has played at Pepperdine, Charlotte and now at USC, had seven first-half assists to help give the Trojans a 33-20 lead over No. 9 Tennessee at the Galen Center.

His last game came on March 19, 2008, when he played with Charlotte.

Gerrity was often matched up against Tennessee guard Bobby Maze (a fellow transfer from Oklahoma), but Gerrity showed many of the same ball-handling skills he became known for when he was a four-year starter at Santa Ana Mater Dei.

The Trojans had a 14-1 run to end the half, and Gerrity had four assists during that run, routinely outrunning and weaving through Tennessee’s renowned pressure defense. The crowd was on its feet as Marcus Simmons got a put-back layup just before the halftime buzzer sounded.

Gerrity played virtually the entire half (19 minutes). USC Coach Kevin O’Neill replaced him with guard Donte Smith, who had started all eight games for USC coming in, at the 12:12 mark. But after two straight turnovers on out-of-bounds plays, O’Neill put Gerrity back in with 11:39 left.

Some notable facts and stats:

-- Forward Alex Stepheson leads the Trojans with 10 points and nine rebounds on five of seven shooting.

-- Tennessee is eight of 28 from the floor (28.6%), including two of 13 from three-point range (15.4%).

-- USC is 13 of 21 from the floor (61.9%) and three of six from three-point range (50%).

-- USC leads the points in the paint battle, 16-10.

-- Tennessee leads the turnovers battle with three while the Trojans have 11.

-Baxter Holmes