Nikola Jovanovic had 21 points and 16 rebounds as Southern California beat Southern Illinois-Edwardsville 70-51 on Monday night for its fifth consecutive victory.
Jordan McLaughlin added 12 points and six assists and Katin Reinhardt added 10 points or the Trojans (10-2), who are off to their best start since opening the 2001-02 season with a 13-2 mark.
Carlos Anderson had 10 points and six rebounds and Jalen Henry added 10 points for SIU-Edwardsville (3-8), which had a two-game winning streak snapped.
Southern Cal won with its defense, harassing the physically overmatched Cougars squad into 19-of-67 shooting (28 percent) from the field.