Trojans Win One From Long Range : College basketball: They set a school record for three-point shots attempted (30), making 14 en route to a 69-48 victory over San Francisco State.

If USC’s season-opening 69-48 victory over San Francisco State Tuesday night is any indication of how the season will be, the Trojans will live and die with the three-point shot.

USC set a school record for three-point shots attempted in making 14 of 30, with senior guard Dwayne Hackett leading with 13 attempts, making seven.

USC never trailed, but the Trojans did have problems against the Division II Golden Gators (0-2).

For Coach George Raveling, the victory was not pretty, but it was a win nonetheless as the Trojans tuned up for Saturday’s game at Ohio State.

“I think its obvious that we’ve got a lot of work to do in a short period of time,” said Raveling, who is 5-2 in season openers at USC.

“I still like our team. We have a lot of physical talent and can do a lot of things to win, but we just didn’t show it tonight.”

Hackett led USC in scoring with a career-high 23 points, and fellow guard Phil Glenn added 18. Mark Boyd and Lorenzo Orr led the Trojans in rebounds with four apiece.

USC led, 6-4, before going on a three-point shooting spree. The Trojans outscored San Francisco State, 17-0, in a run that included five consecutive three-point baskets.

The three-point series started with Glenn, who made three-pointers from the left wing and the top of the key, then Hackett made two from the left wing and the right corner before Glenn hit another from the left corner. USC led, 23-5.

“My role is to find the spot behind the three-point line and have the guys find me,” Hackett said. “We have to take those shots when you hear (Raveling) screaming from the bench to take the shot.”

After USC’s run, San Francisco State had a rally of its own. The Golden Gators closed to within 41-33 at halftime, with Aaron Howell scoring 10 points.

During the first half, USC shot 53% from behind the three-point line (nine of 17). Hackett led with four, Glenn three and Rodney Chatman two.

San Francisco State began the second half hot, closing the gap to 44-41 with 15:40 remaining. But USC responded with another three-point outburst in another 17-0 run.

“I never thought that we’d lose,” Raveling said. “But, I started thinking what questions (reporters were) going to ask.”

Again, it was Hackett and Glenn who rallied the Trojans as their outside scoring and USC’s defense put the game away. In a span of 8:23, San Francisco State was held scoreless.

“For a Division II team, I think that we played pretty well, considering that we don’t give scholarships,” San Francisco State Coach Charlie Thomas said.

“We came back and played hard, but we made too many mistakes.”

Howell led the Golden Gators with 15 points, and Lawrence Williams had eight rebounds.