USC basketball: Trojans lead Bradley at halftime, 31-23

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Some surprise contributions from freshman forward Garrett Jackson and some much-needed three-point shooting from senior guard Donte Smith has helped USC to a 31-23 halftime lead over Bradley on Saturday at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, Mass.

The Trojans (2-1) are playing here as part of the Hall of Fame Tip-Off tournament.

Jackson hit all four of his first-half shots, scoring eight points. Smith has a team-high nine points on three-of-four shooting from beyond the arc.

Leading 18-16 with 9 minutes 30 seconds left in the first half, USC went on a 13-5 run that included consecutive three-pointers from Smith.

One player who is struggling for USC is freshman point guard Maurice Jones, who is playing his first game for USC outside of the Galen Center.

Granted, it’s on a neutral court, but right now he has missed all seven of his shots, including four from three-point range. He also has three assists and three turnovers.

Jones’ freshman roommate Bryce Jones has seven points on three-of-seven shooting, and got a nice two-handed slam after recording a steal to put USC up 25-19 with 3:43 left before halftime.

In an effort to better attack Bradley’s zone defense, USC is trying to play some high-low on offense with junior forward Nikola Vucevic stationed near the free-throw line and senior forward Alex Stepheson near the basket on either the left or right block.

Because Vucevic is a decent passer -- and at 6-foot-10, he can see the floor pretty well -- it has helped the Trojans be more effective against a zone defense, which stifled them all last season and did so again in their 20-point loss on Wednesday to Rider.

By and large, the Trojans still don’t have the shooters needed to attack a zone, but Smith’s shooting has helped, as has Jackson, who scored an easy layup on a high-low pass from Vucevic in the first half.

This game is the first of two that USC will play this weekend in Springfield. The second is at 11:30 a.m. PST Sunday against New Mexico State.

-- Baxter Holmes