Elijah Stewart scored 21 points to lead USC to an 88-54 victory over visiting New Orleans on Tuesday night at the Galen Center in Los Angeles.

Jonah Matthews scored 13 points for USC (4-0), which is unbeaten after four games for the second year in a row. Shaqquan Aaron scored 12 points and Jordan McLaughlin had 11 points and nine assists.

Erik Thomas scored 20 points for New Orleans (1-3). Tevin Broyles had 11 points.

The game was close in the opening minutes. New Orleans trailed 12-11 following a 3-pointer by Jorge Rosa, but USC mounted a 15-0 run to take control. The Trojans went up 21-11 on a layup by McLaughlin and took a 27-11 lead on a free throw by Nick Rakocevic.

USC extended its lead to 17 on a 3-pointer by Stewart and carried a 42-25 lead into the break. The Trojans shot 55.2 percent in the opening half while holding New Orleans to 35.3-percent shooting. They also made 7 of 14 from 3-point range.

USC extended its lead to 20 on a 3-pointer by Stewart early in the second half. The Trojans went up 54-29 on another 3-pointer by Stewart and led by as many as 35 points late in the game.

Freshman De'Anthony Melton continued to provide a spark off the bench for USC. After averaging nine points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.7 steals in the first three games, Melton had 10 points, five steals, three rebounds and two assists against New Orleans.

This was just the second time USC and New Orleans have met. The Privateers beat the Trojans 85-67 in the first game of the 1986-87 season in New Orleans. The Privateers were ranked as high as No. 16 that season and went on to make the first of four NCAA Tournament appearances over a span of 10 years.