The Riverside Press-Enterprise
UCLA rallies to win at ASU; USC falls
Lazar Stefanovic scored 18 points, Brandon Williams added 13 and UCLA overcame a 15-point deficit in the second half to beat Arizona State 68-66 late on Wednesday night.
UCLA took advantage of a hot-tempered Arizona State team that was called for four technicals — all in the second half.
The Bruins took a 62-60 lead with 2:29 left when Stefanovic made two free throws after Arizona State’s Bryant Selebangue was called for a technical. But the Sun Devils rallied again — with Frankie Collins hitting a tough 3-pointer as the shot clock expired on the ensuing possession for a 63-62 lead.
UCLA’S Sebastian Mack responded with two straight baskets, including one after a steal, to push UCLA up 66-63 with 45 seconds remaining.
It’s been a rough stretch for the Bruins (8-10, 3-4 Pac-12), but two straight wins in conference play could signal a turnaround. Adem Bona added nine points and a career-high seven blocks before fouling out.
“There’s not going to be any give up,” UCLA coach Mick Cronin said. “I’m not allowing that. But you’ve got to get the ball in the basket to get some juices flowing. I’ve been working with these guys on having fortitude, bounce in your step and not worrying about missed shots.”
Arizona State (10-7, 4-2) has dropped two straight.
UCLA made its push midway through the second half, using a 7-point swing on one possession after Stefanovic made four straight free throws and Will Mcclendon added a 3-pointer. Stefanovic got to shoot two free throws after he was fouled on a missed layup and then got to shoot two more because of a technical foul assessed to Arizona State.
Caleb Love scored 20 points, Pelle Larsson added 13 and Arizona beat USC in Tucson.
Coming off a three-point loss at Washington State, the Wildcats (13-4, 4-2 Pac-12) overcame a nearly seven-minute stretch without a field goal to lead by 10 at halftime and stretched it to 19 midway through the second half.
The Trojans (8-10, 2-5) arrived in the desert on a two-game losing streak and missing their top two scorers. Boogie Ellis was out for the second straight game with a hand injury and freshman guard Isaiah Collier had
NO. 12 ARIZONA 82, USC 67 >>
hand surgery last week.
Bronny James scored nine of his 11 points in the first half despite being booed by Arizona’s students every time he touched the ball.
Playing his 10th game since returning from cardiac arrest, James shot 5 of 11 and had six assists. DJ Rodman led USC with 16 points.
SAN DIEGO STATE 71, NEVADA 59 >> Jaedon Ledee scored 22 points for the Aztecs at home. Ledee had 12 rebounds and three steals for the Aztecs (15-3, 4-1 Mountain West Conference). Reese Waters had 14 points and seven rebounds, and Lamont Butler had 10 points for SDSU. Tre Coleman had 16 points for Nevada (15-3, 2-2).
Top 25 men
NO. 1 UCONN 62, NO. 18 CREIGHTON 48 >> Tristen Newton scored 16 points and the newly topranked Huskies used a stifling defense to win at Storrs, Conn, Cam Spencer and Alex Karaban each had 13 points for Uconn (16-2, 6-1 Big East).
NO. 8 KENTUCKY 90, MISSISSIPPI STATE 77 >> Antonio Reeves scored 27 points and coach John Calipari won his 400th game with the Wildcats. Kentucky (13-3, 3-1 Southeastern Conference) shot 62% in the second half to provide the milestone victory for the Hall of Famer, who became the third-fastest active coach to achieve that with a program.
Women
VANDERVEER NEARS MILESTONE >> Stanford Hall of Fame coach Tara Vanderveer is on the cusp of breaking former Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski’s record of 1,202 victories, with a chance to tie his mark when the eighth-ranked Cardinal (15-2) play host to Oregon tonight. At least a couple dozen of Vanderveer’s former players plan to be on hand if she’s in position to make history Sunday against Oregon State.