Guard Jordan McLaughlin scored 21 points, and forward Nikola Jovanovic recorded a double-double to help Southern California pull away for a 101-90 victory over pesky Monmouth on Monday night at the Galen Center in Los Angeles.

Jovanovic had 20 points 12 rebounds for the Trojans (2-0). Guard Elijah Stewart also scored 20 points, and guard Julian Jacobs had 19.

Guard Justin Robinson scored a game-high 28 points for Monmouth (1-1), which upset UCLA in its season opener. Guard Deon Jones added 20 points and eight rebounds.

Southern California started the game with a 13-2 run. The Trojans took a 28-12 lead on a three-point play by Jovanovic with 9:54 to play in the opening period, but Monmouth began to chip away at the lead.

The Hawks cut the deficit to 11 on back-to-back 3-pointers by Robinson and guard Collin Stewart with 6:31 to go. They tied the game on two free throws by Jones with 2:14 remaining, took a 44-42 lead on a three-point play by Jones and trailed by one at the half.

The teams traded leads several times in a tightly contested second half. The Hawks trailed by two with 3:31 remaining before guard Katin Reinhardt and Stewart made back-to-back 3-pointers to give Southern California a 90-82 lead.