USC beats California 77-69 to snap 5-game skid

LOS ANGELES – Nikola Jovanovic scored a career-high 23 points and Southern California led all the way in beating California 77-69 Wednesday night for the Trojans’ first Pac-12 victory following an 0-5 start.

Byron Wesley added 14 points and seven rebounds, Julian Jacobs and Pe’Shon Howard had 12 points each, while Howard added 10 assists for the Trojans (10-9, 1-5), who ended their worst start in league play since 2012. Jovanovic made 8 of 10 field goals and all seven of his free throw attempts.

Justin Cobbs scored 22 points and Jordan Mathews added 18 for the Golden Bears (14-5, 5-1), who had their six-game overall winning streak snapped and their four-game streak against USC end.

The loss left idle No. 1 Arizona (18-0, 5-0) as the league’s only remaining undefeated team.

Cal big men Richard Solomon and David Kravish combined for 19 points. They had been averaging a combined 33.8 points.