Elijah Stewart had a career-high 30 points and seven rebounds, leading USC to a 75-61 victory over visiting Montana in a season opener Friday night at the Galen Center in Los Angeles, Calif.

Shaqquan Aaron had 17 points and seven rebounds for USC (1-0). Chimezie Metu had 14 points and seven rebounds.

Ahmaad Rorie scored 21 points and made five 3-pointers for Montana (0-1). Fabian Krslovic had 10 points and seven rebounds.

Montana jumped out to a 14-3 lead following back-to-back 3-pointers by Rorie and a layup by Mario Dunn. USC battled back, slowly chipping away at the lead.

The Trojans tied the game on two free throws by Metu and taking a 20-18 lead on a pair of free throws from Aaron. Aaron then added a layup and a 3-pointer to put the Trojans up 25-18. USC went ahead 29-21 on a dunk by Metu, but the Grizzlies trailed by only four at the break.

The teams traded baskets early in the second half. USC took a 40-34 lead on a layup by Jordan McLaughlin. Montana cut the deficit to three on a 3-pointer by Bobby Moorehead. The Grizzlies were still within three following a 3-pointer by Brandon Gfeller with 8:46 remaining, but the Trojans mounted a 13-1 run to take a 66-51 lead on two free throws by Stewart.

USC won despite shooting 41.2 percent from the field and 30 percent from 3-point range. The Trojans went to the free-throw line 38 times, making 27. Montana shot 38.6 percent from the field and 34.5 percent from beyond the arc.

USC was picked to finish seventh in the Pac-12 Conference preseason media poll. The Trojans are expected to finish behind Oregon, Arizona, UCLA, Cal, Colorado and Washington. Montana was picked to finish fourth in the Big Sky Conference preseason coaches' poll and second in the preseason media poll.