USC holds off Arizona State despite being outscored in 2nd half
LOS ANGELES - Elijah Stewart scored 29 points, making seven of Southern California's 14 3-pointers, to beat Arizona State 82-79 on Sunday night.
Jordan McLaughlin added 18 points for the Trojans (17-4, 4-4 Pac-12), who stopped a two-game skid at Galen Center in salvaging a weekend split after losing to No. 14 Arizona. Stewart's points were one off his career high and he tied his career best for 3-pointers. The Trojans equaled their season-best from long-range.
Torian Graham scored 24 points, and Obinna Oleka had 17 points and 14 rebounds for the Sun Devils (9-11, 2-5), who got swept in their four-day visit to Los Angeles after losing at No. 3 UCLA.
The Sun Devils got to 82-79 on a basket by Kodi Justice. After a timeout, Graham missed a 3-pointer with six seconds left.
Stewart fouled out with two seconds to go and the Sun Devils had possession. But Shannon Evans II missed a 3-pointer from the left corner with one second to go.
Arizona State trailed by 12 points and got within one point in both halves, but USC never gave up the lead.
Led by Graham's six points, the Sun Devils outscored USC 15-4 to get to 63-62.
Stewart hit a 3-pointer from the left wing and the Trojans were off on another scoring tear, with Stewart adding another 3 and Jonah Mathews adding two more treys that pushed their lead to 79-67.
In the first half, the Trojans hit four 3-pointers in a 20-6 run that gave them a 26-14 lead. Stewart made three treys and McLaughlin had two highlights assists in the spurt. Chimezie Metu dunked off McLaughlin's bounce pass in the paint and Stewart followed with a dunk on McLaughlin's alley-oop pass off Arizona State's turnover.
The Sun Devils answered with a 16-5 spurt, including three straight 3-pointers, to get to 31-30.
USC closed with a 14-8 run to lead 45-38 at the break. McLaughlin banked in a 3-pointer from just past the midcourt line to beat the halftime buzzer after hitting two other treys, one of which beat the shot clock.
BIG PICTURE
Arizona St.: They've lost four in a row and still face ranked opponents Oregon, UCLA and rival Arizona in the coming weeks.
USC: The victory gave the Trojans a shot of momentum heading into their home game against No. 3 UCLA before they head out on a road trip to the Washington schools.
UP NEXT
Arizona St. hosts Washington on Wednesday.
USC hosts No. 3 UCLA on Wednesday in the first of two meetings between the crosstown rivals. The Trojans beat the Bruins three times last season, including in the Pac-12 tournament.