ILLINOIS STUNS WILDCATS LATE
Terrence Shannon Jr. shook off a slow start in his return from a concussion, scoring 24 of his 26 points in the second half as host Illinois rallied from an 18-point halftime deficit to beat No. 21 Northwestern 66-62 on Thursday night.
Shannon did not start and found himself back on the bench with three fouls as Northwestern (20-8, 11-6 Big Ten) closed on a 13-2 run to take a 37-19 lead into halftime.
But he picked up steam after the break and scored 15 of the Illini’s last 24 points as they erased a 14-point deficit in the final 10:07. His tiebreaking drive with 1:16 left put Illinois (19-9, 10-7) ahead 63-61, and he scored the team’s last five points — including a pair of free throws that sealed it with two seconds to go.
Boo Buie led Northwestern with a career-high 35 points, hitting six 3-pointers and going 12 of 24 from the floor.
No. 4 UCLA 78, Utah 71: Jaime Jacquez Jr. scored 23 points and Tyger Campbell added 18 as UCLA (24-4, 15-2) held off host Utah (17-12, 10-8).
No. 12 Gonzaga 97, USD 72: Drew Timme had 22 points and 13 rebounds to help host Gonzaga (23-6, 13-2) rout the University of San Diego (11-18, 4-11). The win sets up a matchup between Gonzaga and No. 15 Saint Mary’s for the West Coast Conference regular
No. 15 Saint Mary’s 83, Pacific 52: Logan Johnson scored 29 points in the final home game of his career and host Saint Mary’s (25-5, 14-1) clinched at least a share of the WCC regular-season title with the win over Pacific (1317, 6-9).
West
USC 84, Colorado 65: Boogie Ellis scored 21 points and USC (20-8, 12-5 Pac-12 Conference) breezed to an victory over Colorado (15-14, 7-11). Ellis made 7 of 16 shots with two 3-pointers for the Trojans, who have won three straight.
Women
No. 1 South Cartolina 73, Tennessee 60: Zia Cooke scored 19 points and Kierra Fletcher had 15 as South Carolina topped Tennessee. The Gamecocks (28-0, 15-0) clinched at least a tie for the regular-season Southeastern Conference title. The Lady Volunteers fell to (20-10, 12-3).
No. 18 Gonzaga 73, USD 61: Brynna Maxwell and Kaylynne Truong led a balanced attack with 14 points each and Gonzaga (26-3, 16-1) pulled away from host USD for a win to clinch a share of the WCC title. Myah Pace scored 16 points for the Toreros (16-12, 10-7).