The lowdown: Jordan McLaughlin opened the scoring for the Trojans after being left open on an inbounds play.
Across the first five minutes of the game, USC and ASU went back and forth, with notable contributions from Jonah Mathews on a drive to the basket, Elijah Stewart hitting a three-point attempt and Nick Rakocevic slamming home to give the Trojans an 11-8 lead.
When it looked like USC might take over the game, the Sun Devils knocked down a pair of timely threes to stop the run.
Stewart took up a starring role with 12 points in the opening 10 minutes.