LOS ANGELES — He came hurtling down the lane with every bit of force in his 6-foot-7 frame, Iowa guard Josh Dix the only barrier left standing in Saint Thomas’ way. And Thomas did not dodge, nor duck, nor dip: he went through, finishing a second-half layup straight over Dix’s frame, the fiery USC forward sneering and flexing in his general direction after a layup dropped home.

And a referee’s whistle blew, on a technical.

Time stopped, suddenly. The good vibrations, inside this Galen Center, flattened. Thomas held hands up, mouth agape, the kind of unforced error that could’ve suddenly derailed an 18-point lead — that would have, a few weeks earlier, this USC program untested and inexperienced and fumbling away second halves against Cal and Oregon and Michigan.

But this was a different team, and a different Galen Center, more bodies slowly trickling in for the intrigue of a program that had just knocked off 13th-ranked Illinois on Saturday. After two Iowa free throws, Thomas picked up full-court, clapping relentlessly. And fans in the lower basin at Galen clapped with him, unity for these upstart Trojans, as Eric Musselman’s surprising squad proceeded to tuck Iowa away 99-89 on Tuesday night.

Nothing could shake USC, on this night. Not random referee-induced stoppages. Not the emotion of returning to their city decimated by fire after a week on the road, multiple staff members’ families having to evacuate. Not the swings in momentum from a hot-shooting Iowa squad, who whittled USC’s lead down in final minutes. Not when these Trojans had hit the peak of their offensive execution, recording a remarkable 27 assists, a group of transfers clicking like never before.

Thomas was near-flawless, with nine rebounds, seven assists and 24 points on 8-of-9 shooting — and could’ve had two more, if not for Desmond Claude missing him wide-open in the paint with a couple minutes to go, the point guard hugging Thomas in gleeful apology. Claude continued an excellent stretch, himself, with a team-high 25 points, seven rebounds, nine assists and a slew of clutch second-half free throws.

Freshman Wesley Yates III, coming off Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors, scored 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting. Boise State transfer sharpshooter Chibuzo Agbo Jr. added 18, big Rashaun Agee chipped in nine points and nine rebounds, and an upstart USC program improved to 11-6 (3-3 Big Ten).

USC’s Josh Cohen and assistant coach Will Conroy lifted their hands to the crowd in a call for more noise as the teams walked off the floor at the first-half buzzer, the full vision of an Eric Musselman team coming to life at Galen in sheer dominance. This program, a month after offensive possessions too often stalled out in empty dribbles, had become an offensive powerhouse, torching Iowa in shooting 61% from the floor. This program, a month after consistent defensive lapses, had held the Hawkeyes — entering Tuesday night as the second-highest-scoring team in the nation — to their second-lowest-scoring half of the year.