OWLS TOP TULANE, AVOID SECOND STRAIGHT LOSS
Alijah Martin hit two of three free throws after being fouled by Tulane’s Jaylen Forbes on a desperation 3point attempt with less than a second left, and No. 24 Florida Atlantic escaped with a 85-84 victory over the Green Wave on Thursday night.
“We hate it that it came down to the play that it did,” FAU coach Dusty May said. “I wish we could have separated earlier when we had a nice lead, but these guys stayed the course.”
Martin — who had family and friends from Summit, Miss., in attendance — missed the second free throw, but made the third. That final free throw secured a result that helped FAU avoid what would have been a second straight loss after being upset Saturday at Charlotte — where they fell 70-68 on free throws with 1.7 seconds left after a foul had been called on an 18-foot jumper.
Tulane (10-5, 1-2 American Athletic) coach Ron Hunter avoided criticizing the late foul call specifically, but made it clear he wasn’t pleased with how the game ended.
“Let the kids decide it,”
No. 24
Hunter said.
Nick Boyd tied a career high with 21 points and six 3pointers to lead FAU (12-4, 2-1), which led 83-74 after Brandon Weatherspoon’s 3 with 3:03 left, but nearly collapsed.
Vladislav Goldin had 19 points and 11 rebounds, while Johnell Davis and Martin each scored 14 points for FAU, a Final Four team last season which had lost two of its previous three games to nearly fall out of the AP Top 25.
No. 10 Illinois 71, Michigan State 68: Marcus Domask scored 15 points, including four free throws in the closing minutes that helped host hold off Michigan State.
Coleman Hawkins and Ty Rodgers also scored 15 points apiece for the Illini (12-3, 3-1 Big Ten), who bounced back after a close loss at then-No. 1 Purdue last Friday.
Tyson Walker scored 17 points and A.J. Hoggard added 16 for the Spartans (9-7, 1-4), who fell into a last-place tie with Michigan in the conference standings.
Santa Clara 77, No. 23 Gonzaga 76: With prominent alum Steve Nash watching from the front row, the host Broncos (12-6, 3-0 West Coast Conference) got a layup from Adama Bal with 4.6 seconds remaining to beat the Zags (11-5, 2-1) for the first time in 13 seasons (26 games).
Gonzaga led by four with a minute to play but couldn’t put it away.
The Zags’ Ryan Nembard missed the front end of a oneand-one with 12 seconds left. Bal led the Broncos with 17 points but missed a free throw when he was fouled on his winning shot. Anton Watson led Gonzaga with 32 points but turned the ball over after Bal missed the free throw.
West
Utah 90, UCLA 44: Cole Bajema and Keba Keita scored 14 points apiece, Brandon Carlson added a doubledouble and host Utah ended a seven-game losing streak to UCLA.
The Utes (12-4, 3-2 Pac-12 Conference) just missed handing the Bruins (6-10, 1-4) their worst conference loss in program history. UCLA has lost four in a row for the second time this season. They have not lost five straight since February 1990.
Pepperdine 93, Pacific 78: Jevon Porter scored 26 points and Michael Ajayi added 21 as the host Waves (8-10, 1-2 WCC) built and early pulled away against the Tigers (6-12, 0-3).
Wednesday’s late games
Cal 82, Colorado 78: Jalen Cone hit 3 of 4 from the free throw line in the final 12 seconds to give host California (6-10, 2-3 Pac-12) a comefrom-behind, win over Colorado (11-5, 2-3). The win, which came after the Bears fell behind by 16, earned Cal back-to-back victories for the first time this season. Jaylon Tyson finished with a careerhigh 30 points to lead Cal.
Washington State 72, USC 64: Isaac Jones scored 26 points and visiting Washington State (11-5, 2-3 Pac-12) held off USC, beating the Trojans on the road for the first time in nearly nine years. Boogie Ellis finished with 18 points for USC (8-8, 2-3).
Notable
Marquette guard Sean Jones will miss the remainder of the season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee Wednesday during the 11th-ranked Golden Eagles’ loss to Butler.