LOS ANGELES — — Josh Cohen had 19 points and Saint Thomas hit a late 3-pointer to help Southern California hold off Idaho State 75-69 on Thursday night.

Dylan Darling made both ends of a one-and-one following his layup to give Idaho State a 58-57 lead with 8:45 left to play. USC (2-0) moved back ahead by three, but Evan Otten hit 1 of 2 free throws and followed with a dunk to tie the game at 63 with 4:02 remaining.

Clark Slajchert made 2 of 3 free throws after being fouled on a 3-point attempt and Cohen hit a jumper following a Bengals turnover to give the Trojans a 68-65 lead with 2:25 left. Idaho State (0-2) turned a missed 3-pointer by Slajchert into a fastbreak layup by Jake O’Neil to get within a point.

Both teams missed shots before Thomas buried a 3-pointer with 18 seconds remaining to put the Trojans up 71-67. Darling had a layup with 4.5 seconds left, but Slajchert hit two foul shots for a two-possession lead.

Cohen made 8 of 12 shots from the floor and 3 of 4 free throws for USC. Wesley Yates III scored 13 points off the bench. Thomas finished with 10 points, nine assists and seven rebounds.

Darling, a sophomore transfer from Washington State, finished with a career-high 22 points for Idaho State. Isaiah Griffin had 10 points. O’Neil had nine points and nine rebounds.

Cohen had a layup with five seconds left and scored 12 points to help USC take a 38-35 lead into halftime. Darling had 15 points for Idaho State to keep it a one-possession game. The Bengals fell behind 19-7 but stayed close by making 14 of 16 foul shots, while the Trojans sank only 6 of 14.

USC, which opened with a 77-51 home victory over Chattanooga, will host UT Arlington on Wednesday.

—— Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP collegebasketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Attorneys for a man charged in the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students asked a judge to take the death penalty off the table Thursday, arguing that international, federal and state law all make it inappropriate for the case.

Bryan Kohberger is accused of the Nov. 13, 2022, killings of Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves. Investigators said they were able to link Kohberger — then a graduate student at nearby Washington State University — to the crime from DNA found on a knife sheath at the scene, surveillance videos and cellphone data.

When asked to enter a plea last year, Kohberger stood silent, prompting a judge to enter a not guilty plea on his behalf. Prosecutors have said they will seek the death penalty if he is convicted.

During a pre-trial motion hearing, Kohberger’s defense team made a broad range of arguments against the death penalty, saying in part that it does not fit today’s standards of decency, that it is cruel to make condemned inmates sit for decades on death row awaiting execution and that it violates an international treaty prohibiting the torture of prisoners.

But 4th District Judge Stephen Hippler questioned many of those claims, saying that the international treaty they referenced was focused on ensuring that prisoners are given due process so they are not convicted and executed without a fair trial.

Prosecutors noted that the Idaho Supreme Court has already considered many of those arguments in other capital cases and allowed the the death penalty to stand.

Still, by bringing up the issues during the motion hearing, Kohberger’s defense team took the first step toward preserving their legal arguments in the court record, potentially allowing them to raise them again on appeal.

The judge said he would issue a written ruling on the motions later.

Kristi and Steve Goncalves, the parents of Kaylee Goncalves, attended the hearing. Afterward they said the details of the case show the death penalty is merited.

“You’ve got four victims, all in one house — that’s more than enough,” Steve Goncalves said.

Kristi Goncalves said she talked to the coroner and knows what happened to her daughter.

“If he did anything like he did to our daughter to the others, then he deserves to die,” she said.

Kohberger’s attorneys have said he was out for a drive the night of the killings, something he often did to look at the sky.

His trial is scheduled to begin next August and is expected to last up to three months. The Goncalves family said they have rented a home in Boise so they can attend.