Trey Porter had two of Nevada's four hoops in a 9-0 burst to start the second half Saturday afternoon, allowing the fifth-ranked Wolf Pack to rally from behind en route to a 73-61 nonconference victory over host USC in Los Angeles.
The win was the season-opening eighth straight for Nevada (8-0), which had not faced the Trojans in basketball since a one-point home loss in January 1976.
Nick Rakocevic had a team-high 20 points and a game-high 12 rebounds for the Trojans (5-3), who had won three in a row.
Porter hit a jumper on Nevada's second possession of the second half to erase a 35-34 halftime deficit and give the Wolf Pack the lead for good.
Jordan Caroline added a jumper, Caleb Martin a 3-pointer and Porter a dunk in the nine-point flurry that created a 43-35 lead.
USC did not score in the second period until Jordan Usher dropped in a layup with 16:39 remaining in the game.
Nevada, which made eight of its 20 3-point attempts and shot 46.7 percent overall, ran off to as much as a 19-point lead before coasting home.
Caroline was the game's leading scorer with 24 points and completed a double-double with a team-high 11 rebounds.
Tre'Shawn Thurman contributed 14 points and nine rebounds to the win, while Martin added 12 points and six rebounds for Nevada, which was coming off a 79-65 road win over Loyola of Chicago in a rematch from last season's NCAA Tournament.
Derryck Thornton had 10 points for USC, which made only five of its 21 3-point attempts and shot 43.3 percent overall.
USC's Bennie Boatright was held to just seven points on 3-for-13 shooting.
Nevada puts its undefeated record on the line next against Arizona State on Dec. 7. USC plays host to TCU, also on Dec. 7.
--Field Level Media
Nevada | Southern California | |
Jordan Caroline 24 | Scoring | Nick Rakocevic 20 |
Cody Martin 7 | Assists | Bennie Boatwright 4 |
Jordan Caroline 11 | Rebounds | Nick Rakocevic 12 |
Jordan Caroline 5 | Free Throws Made | Nick Rakocevic 4 |
Cody Martin 1 | Steals | Jonah Mathews 4 |
Tre'Shawn Thurman 1 | Blocks | Nick Rakocevic 3 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Nevada | 73 | 46.7 | 8-20 | 9-13 | 16 | 34 | 1 | 1 | 11 |
Southern California | 61 | 43.3 | 5-21 | 4-8 | 11 | 30 | 4 | 8 | 9 |