Portland State presses Cal into defeat
Don Coleman scored 19 points, and Marcus Lee had 15 points and nine rebounds for Cal, but the Bears were whipped at Haas Pavilion 106- 81 by Portland State.
Holland Woods had 12 points and a season-high 13 assists for the Vikings in the final nonconference game for both teams. Bryce Canda scored 23 points to lead six Vikings players in double figures.
The Vikings (10-3) had never won 10 games before Christmas until their blowout of Cal (6-7).
That added to an already impressive nonconference slate for Portland State. The Vikings also have wins over Utah State, Stanford and Santa Clara this season.
As has been the case all season, first-year coach Barret Peery’s team used its smothering pressure defense to set the tone.
Portland State forced Cal into a season-high 26 turnovers that led to 40 points. The Vikings also held a 26- 6 advantage in assists.
Cal’s frustrations boiled over late in the first half when Nick Hamilton was called for a technical foul after shovingHollins in the face during a break in play. Cal opens Pac-12 against Stanford at Maples Pavilion on Dec. 30. SAN DIEGO STATE 72, GON
ZAGA 70 » Senior Trey Kell scored 10 of his 14 points in the final 2:56, and redshirt freshman Jalen McDaniels scored 10 of his 15 points in the second half and had 10 rebounds to lead host San Diego State (8-3) past the No. 12 Bulldogs (10-3). ARIZONA 73, UCONN 58 » Rawle Alkins scored 20 points, and Dusan Ristic had 18 points and 10 rebounds to lead the 18thranked Wildcats to the win in Tucson. Arizona took control behind its defense during a late 8- 0 run that pushed their lead to 65-55 and on to its seventh straight win since an 0-3 trip to the Bahamas. USC’S MELTON RULED INELIGIBLE » USC has ruled sophomore guard De’Anthony Melton ineligible and will no longer allow him to travel with the team, at least temporarily, according to Melton’s attorney and confirmed by the school, ESPN reported. Melton’s eligibility issues surfaced after USC assistant Tony Bland was one of four assistant coaches in college basketball accused of accepting bribes to steer players toward agents, financial advisers and apparel companies, as part of an FBI investigation. Bland was arrested in October and pleaded not guilty in November to four charges relating to bribery and wire fraud. FLORIDA STATE 98, SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI 45 » P. J. Savoy scored 17 points, and the 24th-ranked Seminoles (11-1) made 19 3-pointers as it closed nonconference play with the rout. TEXAS A&M 89, BUFFALO 73 » Duane Wilson scored 23 points as the No. 8 Aggies, playing without three suspended players, won easily. A&Mannounced before the game that junior guard D. J. Hogg, the team’s leading scorer at 14.6 points per game, was suspended for three games for a violation of university policy. In addition, freshman guards J. J. Caldwell and T. J. Starks missed the game because of violations of team rules. PORTLAND 80, SACRAMENTOSTATE75 » Josh McSwiggan scored 18 points and had a key jumper and rebound late to help the Pilots (6-7) edge the Hornets (3-9) in Sacramento’s Golden 1 Center. The game was played before Stanford-Kansas.
Women
CAL62, KENTUCKY52 » Asha Thomas led a balanced attack with 17 points, and the No. 24 Bears (9-2) won their sixth straight. Mikayla Cowling added 15 points, including 10 in the second quarter). Maci Morris led host Kentucky (8-5), which has lost four straight, with 21 points. Despite 25 offensive rebounds and 24 more shots, theWildcats finished at a season-low 26.5 percent (18 of 68) shooting percentage. SAN JOSE STATE 89, SOUTHERN OREGON 87 » Cydni Lewis blocked a shot with 1.5 seconds remaining in overtime and then hit the game winner as the Spartans (3-8) snapped a fourgame skid late Wednesday night in The Event Center.
With the game tied 87-87 and 32 seconds to play in overtime, Southern Oregon (11-1) had the ball and held it for what it hoped would be the go ahead bucket. With time running down, Toria Bradford attempted a 3-pointer. Lewis flew out at and swatted it off the shooter, which gave possession to the Spartans with 1.5 seconds to play.
Coach Jamie Craighead called time to advance the ball to the frontcourt. Fieme’a Hafoka, inbounding the ball, threw a lob for Lewis at the block on the opposite side of the lane. She caught it with three defenders around her and banked in the game-winner. OREGON 84, TEXAS A&M 62 » Maite Cazorla scored 26 points, Sabrina Ionescu added 25, and the 10thranked Ducks (10-2) beat the No. 19 Aggies in the Duel in the Desert in Las Vegas. It was the second time the teams played in a little more than a month. The Ducks won at Texas A& M 83- 68 on Nov. 16 in the semifinals of the Preseason Women’s NIT.
Ruthy Hebard had 10 points and eight rebounds for the Ducks, who played their third straight SEC opponent after losing at No. 5 Mississippi State and beating Mississippi. GRAND CANYON 39, SANTA CLARA38 » The Broncos (47) missed the final shot and a chance for the win in the final nonconference game of the season in Phoenix. Morgan McGwire finished with a career-high tying 16 rebounds and tied for the team-lead with eight points.