USC's perfect record was in peril, but the 23rd-ranked Trojans found a way to win again Friday night, beating Wyoming 94-92 in overtime in the championship game of the Las Vegas Classic at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nev.

USC escaped after tournament MVP Jordan McLaughlin made a driving, twisting, game-winning layup with four seconds remaining in overtime. Jeremy Lieberman missed a 3-point attempt from the top of the arc as time expired.

"It was a long game," McLaughlin told the Los Angeles Times. "It was a hard-fought game."

Freshman Jonah Mathews erupted for a career-high 26 points for the Trojans (13-0), who are off to their best start since going 16-0 to begin the 1970-71 season. Mathews, who went into the contest averaging 5.1 points per game, made 9 of 17 field-goal attempts and 5 of 8 from 3-point range.

McLaughlin finished with 22 points, seven rebounds and five assists. De'Anthony Melton, another freshman, posted a career-high 16 points and eight rebounds. Chimezie Metu had 11 points and seven rebounds.

Jason McManamen and Justin James scored 23 points apiece for Wyoming (9-3), which had won seven in a row. Hayden Dalton turned in a monster performance while recording his fourth consecutive double-double, posting 18 points, 18 rebounds and six assists.

Elijah Stewart gave the Trojans an 85-82 lead late in regulation, but the game went to overtime after Dalton made a 3-pointer with two seconds remaining. Stewart, USC's leading scorer, encountered early foul trouble and was held to 10 points, but he produced some big baskets late in the game.

In overtime, the lead continued to swing back and forth as it had all night. USC finally put Wyoming away on McLaughlin's layup in the final seconds.

"I told our guys after the game that nobody needs to hang their heads," Wyoming coach Allen Edwards said. "It was a tremendous battle and didn't come out the way we wanted, but I'm proud of the effort."

The Cowboys got off to a strong start and took a 15-6 lead on a 3-pointer by McManamen. The Trojans trailed 18-10 before battling back to go up 19-18 on a basket by Melton. The Trojans went up by six before the Cowboys came back to take a 28-26 lead on Alexander Aka Gorski's 3-pointer.

The lead changed hands again when Stewart sank a 3-pointer to put USC up 33-32. The Trojans stretched the lead to nine on a couple of occasions and held a 50-44 advantage at the break.

Wyoming started the second period with a 7-0 run to go up 51-50. The Cowboys put together an 11-2 run to go up 66-60 on a 3-pointer by James.

The Trojans clawed back to cut the deficit to one on a layup by McLaughlin and claimed a 75-74 lead on a basket by Stewart. They led by three in the final minute of the second half, but Dalton's 3-pointer forced overtime.

USC shot 44.4 percent from the field and made 8 of 23 from 3-point range. Wyoming shot just 39.7 percent and committed 17 turnovers, but the Cowboys drained 13 3-pointers, made 21 of 24 free-throw attempts and amassed a 50-40 rebounding advantage.

NOTES: USC entered the game as one of six unbeaten Division I teams in the country. ... Wyoming F Hayden Dalton posted a double-double in Thursday's semifinal victory over DePaul, becoming the first Wyoming player since Larry Nance Jr. in 2013-14 to record three consecutive double-doubles. ... USC went into the game with a 7-4 lead in the all-time series against Wyoming. The teams had not met since Nov. 13, 2001.