LOS ANGELES – Julian Jacobs scored 15 points, Bennie Boatwright added 14, and USC held off a furious rally to beat Arizona State 75-65 in its conference home opener Thursday night.
The Trojans (13-3, 2-1 Pac-12) led by as many as 17 in the second half before the Sun Devils (10-5, 0-2) rallied to cut it to 65-63 with 1:49 to go. A two-handed dunk on a fastbreak by Chimeze Metu halted the Sun Devils rally and started a 10-2 USC run in the final minute to secure the win.
The Trojans surpassed their win total from all of last season with the victory.