No. 21 SMC routs Cal St. Fullerton
Gaels improve to 3-0 with victory over sloppy Titans
Calvin Hermanson scored 22 points, Emmett Naar had 11 points and nine assists, and No. 21 Saint Mary’s used a big second half to beat Cal State Fullerton 76-57 on Wednesday night in Moraga.
Jock Landale contributed 15 points on 7-for-10 shooting while in foul trouble and facing constant defensive pressure. The Gaels (3-0) outscored sloppy Fullerton off turnovers 31-5.
Jackson Rowe and Kyle Allman each scored 13 points as the Titans (0-2) put on a far better showing than in their forgettable 84-42 loss to No. 10 USC last Friday to begin the season.
This time, Fullerton shot 66.8 percent 12 for 18 in the first half but trailed 39-31 at the break in large part because of 13 turnovers.
Naar’s three-point play with 7:33 before halftime was part of a 7-0 Saint Mary’s run, but the Gaels couldn’t pull away.
Cal State Fullerton, picked to finish third in the Big West, committed 11 turnovers by the 5:55 mark of the first half while taking just 10 shots but stayed close early hitting 6 of its first 9 shots and using its quickness to push the tempo and fluster the Gaels on defense.
Saint Mary’s moved up a spot in this week’s Associated Press poll and
is picked to win the West Coast Conference ahead of NCAA Tournament runner-up and top rival Gonzaga.
NEVADA 93, SANTA CLARA 63>> Cody Martin and Jordan Caroline combined to score 43 points as the Wolf Pack picked up its third win to start the season, rolling past the host Broncos (1-1).
Henry Caruso finished with 18 points for Santa Clara, which made just 23 of 59 shots from the field (39 percent) and was 9 of 24 from deep.
NORTH CAROLINA 93, BUCKNESS 81 >> Luke Maye scored 20 points and the No. 9 Tar Heels held on to give coach Roy Williams his 400th victory at the school, a win over Bucknell in the
on-campus round of the PK80. Theo Pinson added a career-high 19 points for the Tar Heels (2-0), who shot 47 percent and welcomed back Final Four Most Outstanding Player Joel Berry.
CREIGHTON 92, NO. 20 NORTHWESTERN 88 >> Khyri Thomas had a career-high 24 points, 11 rebounds and five assists, Martin Krampelj added a careerhigh 17 points for the Bluejays (3-0) in a Gavitt Tipoff Games matchup.
UCLA 106, CENTRAL ARKANSAS 101 >> Kris Wilkes scored 20 points, including five straight in overtime, and the No. 23 Bruins rallied past stubborn Central Arkansas. Wilkes, a freshman, had 12 rebounds in salvaging the home opener for the Bruins (2-0).
• Three UCLA players detained for shoplifting at three high-end stores in China publicly apologized before coach Steve Alford announced they were being suspended indefinitely.
Freshmen LiAngelo Ball, Jalen Hill and Cody Riley won’t be allowed to suit up, practice or travel with the team while the university continues to sort out the circumstances of last week’s incident in Hangzhou, China, Alford said during a news conference at Pauley Pavilion.
“These are good young men who have exercised an inexcusable lapse of judgment and now they have to live with that,” Alford said. “They let a lot people down in the process.”
Ball, Hill and Riley took turns confessing to the theft and apologizing while also thanking President Donald Trump for intervening on their behalf with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.
The players had returned to Los Angeles on Tuesday after Chinese authorities withdrew the charges against them.
“I’m sorry for stealing from the stores in China,” said Ball, the younger brother of Los Angeles Lakers rookie Lonzo Ball, who played last season at UCLA.
Women
OREGON STATE 98, UTAH VALLEY 41 >> Marie Gulich scored 19 points on 9-of-9 shooting and the No. 18 Beavers (2-0) matched a program-best with 17 3-pointers.