Southern Cal nearly upset a ranked team Saturday. The Trojans accomplished the task Tuesday, holding on down the stretch to beat No. 18 Tennessee 65-64 in Knoxville.

Maurice Jones scored 15 points for the Trojans (7-5), which narrowly lost 70-68 on Saturday at No. 3 Kansas.

The Volunteers (7-3), who won their first seven games of the season, lost their third in a row.

Down six points at halftime, the Volunteers trailed for most of the second half but rallied to take a 56-54 led on Cameron Tatum’s 3-pointer with 6:57 to go. Southern Cal would grab the lead back, pushing it to 65-60 on Donte Smith’s 3-pointer with 2:13 left.

Free throws from Scotty Hopson and Melvin Goins brought the Volunteers within 65-64 with 47 seconds remaining. But with the final shot, Tennessee’s Tobias Harris misfired on a 3-pointer with three seconds to go.

The Trojans started fast, building a 21-11 lead on Alex Stepheson’s free throw with 8:32 left in the first half. Tennessee pulled even with a 16-6 run, forging a 27-27 tie on two Harris free throws three minutes later. Southern Cal then closed the first half with an 11-5 run, taking a 38-32 halftime lead.

Jio Fontan and Stepheson each scored 13 points for the Trojans, who have won three out of their past four.

Harris scored 14 points to lead Tennessee.