LOS ANGELES — On a night the UCLA men's basketball team was without its leading scorer and was missing two more starters late, the Bruins had no issues collectively making up for the absence and holding off a late rally in their rivals' building.

Reserve guard Sebastian Mack's 3-pointer with 68 seconds remaining Monday — and a little bit of fortune — proved to be the dagger in UCLA's 82-76 win over USC at Galen Center.

The Bruins (15-6, 6-4 Big Ten), who have won four in a row, watched a 12-point lead shrink to 73-72 with 1:54 remaining.

The Trojans (12-8, 4-5 Big Ten), however, missed a chance to take the lead after Wesley Yates III and Saint Thomas combined to miss three of four free throws — including both by Thomas at the 1:36 mark.

On the ensuing possession Mack, with the shot clock running down, drilled a 3-pointer on the wing in front of the UCLA bench to bump the lead up to 76-72 with 1:08 remaining. After a missed USC 3-point attempt, Mack then knocked down two free throws to send the pro-USC crowd headed for the exits.

The Bruins, who shot 54.9% (28 of 51) from the field and 20 of 25 at the free-throw line, put four scorers in double figures. Wing Eric Dailey Jr. had a team-high 16 points, Mack scored 14 and point guard Dylan Andrews and center Aday Mara had 12 apiece.

Mara got his first start of the season in place of forward Tyler Bilodeau (ankle), who warmed up but was held out, and Andrews dealt with cramping in the second half while fellow starter and former USC guard Kobe Johnson fouled out.

The Trojans got a game-high 21 points from Rashaun Agee and 19 from Yates in the losing effort.

The Bruins came out to a blistering start and led 22-17 past the midway point of the first half.

UCLA shot 68.2% over the first 20 minutes, making eight of nine shots during one stretch, and all nine players who logged first-half minutes scored en route to a 42-37 lead at the break.

USC stayed within striking distance in the half thanks to seven made 3-pointers. The Trojans finished just 11 of 31 from beyond the arc.

The Trojans missed eight of their first nine shots in the second half and the Bruins pushed the lead to as large as 52-40 following a Mara second-chance basket at the 15:21 mark.

UCLA found scoring balance early as Andrews, Dailey and Mara each reached double figures by the time the Bruins maintained a 56-47 lead with 11:45 to play.

Later, USC went on an 8-0 run to pull within 63-59 with 7:17 left and set the stage for the finish.

It was one of those nights a handful of players could have been bestowed the honor, but Mack continued to be UCLA's closer on a team with no true alpha.

The sophomore was 4 of 7 from the field and sank all four of his free throws in 23 minutes off the bench.

The 7-foot-3 sophomore continues to be a sheer presence just standing around the rim.

Mara had a key sequence when the Bruins got separation early in the second half, blocking a pair of shots on one USC possession and scoring on the other end to push the lead to 48-37 and force a USC timeout.

Mara tied a career high with five blocks to go with a game-high 11 rebounds. Five of his rebounds came in the opening five minutes of the second half.

The Bruins continue to find ways to win when put in a variety of situations, not panicking when the game gets tight late.

Mara came out aggressive in the second half, with head coach Mick Cronin saying afterward that he implored his fellow teammates to speak up and let him know to shoot more.

The free-throw line was a big difference, too, with UCLA owning a plus-nine edge.

USC also missed 10 of its 14 3-point attempts in the second half.