Rakocevic, USC slip past Utah, keep pace with Ducks in Pac12
Nick Rakocevic had 16 points — two on the goahead basket with 18 seconds left — and 15 rebounds and host USC held off Utah 5652 on Thursday night to remain a halfgame behind firstplace Oregon in the Pac12 standings.
The Trojans (174, 62), who have won five of their past six games, trailed by six at halftime and by nine with 12:34 to play before going on a 120 run that included seven points from Elijah Weaver.
After Rakocevic’s tipin made it 5452, Onyeka Okongwu iced the victory for USC with two free throws with five seconds to play.
Utah (128, 35) was led by Timmy Allen’s 13 points.
UCLA 72, #20 Colorado 68: Chris Smith scored 30 points and the host Bruins (11-10, 4-4 Pac-12) held off the Buffaloes (16-5, 5-3). McKinley Wright IV and Evan Battey had 14 points apiece for Colorado.
Arizona 75, Washington 72: Jemarl Baker Jr. made his fourth 3-pointer with 42 seconds left to give the Wildcats the lead, part of his team’s closing 11-3 run, and visiting Arizona (14-6, 4-3 Pac-12) beat the Huskies (12-10, 2-7). Nico Mannion scored 16 points to lead the winners. RaeQuan Battle had 14 points to pace Washington, which did not score in the final 1:42.
BYU 107, Pepperdine 80: Jake Toolson scored 25 points to lead all five Cougars starters in double figures as host BYU (16-7, 5-3 WCC) rolled. Kameron Edwards had 20 points for the Waves (11-11, 4-4).
#15 Maryland 82, #18 Iowa 72: Anthony Cowan Jr. scored 31 points and Jalen Smith had 18 points and 14 rebounds for the host Terrapins (17-4, 7-3 Big Ten). Luka Garza scored 21 points for the Hawkeyes (15-6, 6-4).
#19 Illinois 59, Minnesota 51: Andres Feliz scored 17 points to pace the host Illini (16-5, 8-2), which moved into a first-place tie with No. 14 Michigan State in the Big Ten. Daniel Oturu scored 20 points for the Golden Gophers (11-10, 5-6).