Saint Mary’s knocks off BYU to clinch second place in WCC
Gaels clinch second place in WCC; SJSU a winner in overtime
Calvin Hermanson scored 17 points, and No. 22 Saint Mary’s cruised to a 70-57 victory over BYU on Saturday night, snapping a three-game road losing streak to its West Coast Conference rival.
With two games remaining on the regular-season schedule, the Gaels (24-3, 14-2 WCC) clinched a second-place finish in the conference standings behind top-ranked and undefeated Gonzaga.
Saint Mary’s controlled the game most of the night, riding its staunch defense on one end and running efficient offense on the other. The Gaels were able to get to the rim consistently and also knocked down 10 3pointers.
Evan Fitzner scored 15 points for Saint Mary’s, including 11 in the second half. BYU (19-10, 10-6) shot 39.7 percent from the field and connected on four 3s.
Saint Mary’s took a 41-30 lead into halftime thanks to Hermanson’s hot shooting and plenty of its trademark defense. The Gaels began the day ranked second in the nation in scoring defense, then held the Cougars to 37.9 percent shooting from the field in the first 20 minutes.
Saint Mary’s shot 57.1 percent at the other end, including a 3-for-4 effort from Hermanson from behind the arc.
Eric Mika had 18 points for BYU, and Yoeli Childs added 13.
San Jose State 83, Air Force 78 (OT): Brandon Clarke scored 22 points, Isaac Thornton matched his career-high with 17 points, and the Spartans overcame a 13-point halftime deficit.
USF 65, Portland 51: Chase Foster scored 18 points, and the Dons jumped out early and cruised on Saturday night. USF (19-10, 9-7 West Coast Conference) bounced back from a 9661 loss at No. 1 Gonzaga on Thursday and snapped a two-game losing skid. Portland (9-19, 2-14) has lost 14 straight.
San Diego 60, Santa Clara 58 (2OT): Tyler Williams hit the game-winning jumper at the second-overtime buzzer to lead the Toreros over the Broncos. San Diego’s Cameron Neubauer had 24 points and 10 rebounds.
UCLA 102, USC 70: Bryce Alford scored 26 points, including 10 straight in the second half, and the No. 6 Bruins beat the Trojans, snapping a four-game skid against their crosstown rival.
Gonzaga 82, Pacific 61: Nigel Williams-Goss had 18 points and seven assists as the No. 1 Zags remained the only undefeated team in Division I.
Villanova 92, Seton Hall 70: Jalen Brunson had 22 points and a career-high 10 assists, and the No. 2 Wildcats clinched a tie for an unprecedented fourth straight Big East Conference regular-season title.
Kansas 67, Baylor 65: Landen Lucas made two free throws with 11 seconds left, lifting the No. 3 Jayhawks over the No. 4 Bears. With one more win, Kansas will match the UCLA teams of the 1960s and ’70s by winning its 13th consecutive conference championship.
Arizona 76, Washington 68: Lauri Markkanen had 26 points and 13 rebounds, Allonzo Trier scored a season-high 21 points and the No. 5 Wildcats defeated the Huskies.
Oregon 101, Colorado 73: Dillon Brooks scored 23 points to lead the No. 7 Ducks over the Buffaloes.
Women
Saint Mary’s 64, BYU 58: Carly Turner had 16 points, and Stella Beck added 13 to lead the Gaels. BYU’s Cassie Broadhead led all scorers with 18.
San Diego 60, Santa Clara 58: Katherine Hamilton hit a shot in the closing seconds to lift the Toreros over the Broncos. Marie Bertholdt led Santa Clara with 18 points.
USF 83, Portland 71: Rachel Howard and Michaela Rakova led the Dons with 19 points apiece.
San Jose State, 83 Air Force 67: Dezz Ramos had 34 points and six rebounds for the Spartans.
UConn 63, Tulane 60: Napheesa Collier had 26 points and 12 rebounds, and the top-ranked Huskies held off the Pelicans to push their record winning streak to 101 games.
Oklahoma 74, Texas 73: Peyton Little hit a corner 3-pointer with two seconds remaining, and the No. 19 Sooners beat the No. 8 Longhorns, ending Texas’ 19-game winning streak.