Los Angeles, CA -- (Sports Network) - Taj Gibson totaled 22 points and 10 rebounds to lead No. 19 Southern California to a 73-60 victory over New Mexico State at Galen Center.

Dwight Lewis poured in 16 points for Southern California (2-0), which opened its 2008-09 season with a 78-55 win over UC-Irvine and will now face Seton Hall on Thursday. Daniel Hackett scored 10 points and DeMar DeRozan added seven points in the win.

Jahmar Young led the way for New Mexico State (1-1) with 16 points and seven rebounds. Troy Gillenwater chipped in 15 points for the Aggies, who will host Pepperdine on Friday. Jonathan Gibson added 11 points in the loss.

In the early going, following a three-pointer by Young that gave the Aggies an 8-7 lead, the Trojans went on an 11-0 run. Keith Wilkinson's layup started the spurt before six straight points by Gibson -- including a layup, a dunk and a jumper -- made it 15-8 before Lewis' layup capped the surge.

Two foul shots by Hackett with over seven minutes remaining gave the Trojans a 26-12 lead and a layup by DeRozan made it 31-14 with 4:25 to go.

New Mexico State closed the first half on a 10-3 run and drew within 10, 34-24, at the break. The late run was keyed by a three-pointer from Gillenwater and a layup by Young.

USC maintained its lead as the second half unfolded and Gibson's jumper with nearly three minutes gone put the Trojans ahead 42-29.

However, over the course of the following six minutes, the Aggies slowly crept back into the game and scored 16 of the next 25 points. When NMS's Gibson sank two free throws with 12:25 on the clock, the Aggies trailed 51-45.

The Trojans, though, were simply too much. They did not allow the Aggies to get any closer than six, and after DeRozan's thunderous dunk with seven minutes to go made it 59-51, USC leaned on its lead the rest of the way.

Game Notes

The Trojans shot 40.4 percent from the floor but were just 1-for-10 from beyond the arc...The Aggies finished 7-of-20 from three-point range...USC demolished the Aggies in the paint, 40-12...Both teams shot 72.2 percent from the foul line, with USC getting to the line 18 more times.