Bennie Boatwright scored a season-high 21 points to help USC remain undefeated with a 96-72 victory over visiting UC Santa Barbara on Sunday night at the Galen Center in Los Angeles.

All five starters scored in double figures for USC (6-0), which matched its best start since the 2000-01 team won its first eight games. Elijah Stewart scored 18 points. Chimezie Metu and Shaqquan Aaron had 15 points apiece. Jordan McLaughlin had 13 points, five assists and four rebounds.

Jalen Canty had 16 points and 10 rebounds for UC Santa Barbara (0-5). Gabe Vincent had 15 points, Alex Hart had 14 and Ami Lakoju added 12.

Stewart made two 3-pointers in the opening minutes to help USC jump out to an 11-4 lead. The Trojans led by eight following a jumper by Aaron, but the Gauchos battled back to get within two on a layup by Hart.

USC responded with an 11-4 run to go up 36-27. The Trojans led by 10 with just over two minutes remaining, but a 3-pointer by Max Heidegger helped the Gauchos cut the deficit to five at the break.

UC Santa Barbara got within three on a couple occasions early in the second half, but USC withstood the charge and went up 57-47 on a 3-pointer by Boatwright. The Gauchos got within five on a jumper by Canty, but the Trojans quickly pushed the lead back to double digits.

USC shot 54.1 percent from the field, made 14 of 35 from 3-point range and accumulated a 37-30 rebounding advantage. UC Santa Barbara shot 45.5 percent from the field but made just 5 of 22 from 3-point range and 7 of 15 free-throw attempts.