Nikola Vucevic averaged nearly a double-double for USC last year, but surpassed his 10.7 points per game during a key eight-minute stretch Saturday to propel the Trojans past UC Irvine, 62-49, in Los Angeles on Saturday.

The junior forward poured in 17 of his game-high 19 points in the second half, and grabbed 14 rebounds for USC in its opener. Vucevic reeled off 11 of those points during a 17-8 Trojans run over the first eight minutes of the second half to gain a 47-32 lead.

Bryce Jones had 14 points and eight rebounds, Maurice Jones added 14 points and Alex Stepheson added 13 rebounds for USC.

The Trojans had stumbled to the finish line a year ago, losing their final five games – three of which they failed to crack 50 points – to close a disappointing 16-14.

Pavol Losonsky had 13 points and Eric Wise added 12 for the Anteaters, who had opened their season with a 79-65 defeat at No. 16 Illinois on Monday.

Despite their campuses being just 43 miles apart, the two programs had only played twice in the previous decade – both USC blowouts to open the season, 90-70 in 2004-05 and 78-55 in 2008-09.