Landale helps Saint Mary’s rebound
Jock Landale had 23 points and 10 rebounds, and No. 15 Saint Mary’s rebounded from a pair of losses with a 73-61 victory over host Portland on Saturday night.
Tanner Krebs added 16 points for the Gaels (254, 14-2 West Coast Conference), who have won seven straight against the Pilots (10-19, 4-12). With the victory, Saint Mary’s has its third straight 25-win season.
Marcus Shaver Jr. had 15 points for Portland, which has dropped four straight games.
The Gaels sit in second in the West Coast Conference standings behind Gonzaga (25-4, 15-1) with just two more games to go. The conference championship tournament is set to start March 1 in Las Vegas.
The Gaels lost their past two games after a schoolrecord 19-game winning streak. Saint Mary’s fell at home to then-No. 12 Gonzaga 78-65 before getting upset at USF on Thursday night.
Late in the half Saint Mary’s senior guard Emmett Naar went to the locker room with what appeared to be a left ankle injury.
Saint Mary’s appeared to be pulling away in the second half, going up 43-38 on Tanner Krebs’ jumper and free throw, but JoJo Walker’s 3-pointer got the Pilots within 46-43.
A pair of free throws from Krebs put the Gaels up 57-49.
There were some fireworks with 5:11 left when Portland center Phillip Hartwich got a technical and fouled out. Coach Terry Porter reacted angrily, also earning a tech. Krebs made all four shots to put Saint Mary’s ahead 63-53.
MICHIGAN STATE 65, NORTHWESTERN 60 >> Cassius Winston scored 17 points, and the second-ranked Spartans erased a 27-point deficit on the road to beat the Wildcats and extend their winning streak to 10 games. Miles Bridges hit four free throws in the final minute, and the Spartans (26-3, 14-2 Big Ten) used a huge second half to pull out the win. Vic Law cooled off after a blistering start to finish with 21 points, and Northwestern (15-13, 6-9) made just 3 of 26 field goals in the second half. The Wildcats gave themselves a great chance at their first win over a Top 5 team since 1979. They led by as much as 27 and were up 49-27 after a stunning
first half. But the Spartans outscored the Wildcats 29-4 over the first 14 minutes of the second half. VILLANOVA 95, XAVIER 79 >> Mikal Bridges led an early 3-point shooting spurt that put the third-ranked Wildcats in control. Villanova (24-3, 11-3) has won all four regular-season titles since the league was reconfigured. Xavier’s (24-4, 12-3) lead is down to a half game, and Villanova has swept the season series. BAYLOR 59, TEXAS TECH 57
>> Terry Maston scored 24 points, and the host Bears (17-10, 7-7 Big 12) topped the No. 7 Red Raiders, who lost top scorer Keenan Evans to a foot injury in the first half. Texas Tech (225, 10-4) dropped into a tie for first with No. 13 Kansas. GONZAGA 81, PEPPERDINE 67 >> Johnathan Williams had 18 points and 12 rebounds, and the No. 9 Bulldogs (254, 15-1 WCC) held off the last-place Waves to remain in first place in the West Coast Conference. Gonzaga has won 35 straight games against Pepperdine dating to 2002. SOUTH CAROLINA 84, AUBURN 75 >> Frank Booker scored 19 points, and the host Gamecocks (14-13, 5-9 SEC) built a 26-point lead before holding on to defeat the No. 10 Tigers (234, 11-3). TEXAS 77, OKLAHOMA 66 >> Dylan Osetkowski scored 21 points, and the visiting Longhorns extended the No. 23 Sooners’ losing streak to five. Mohamed
Bamba added 10 points and 18 rebounds for Texas (1611, 6-8 Big 12). The Sooners (16-10, 6-8) posted their lowest-scoring game of the season. KANSAS 77, WEST VIRGINIA 69 >> Udoka Azubuike scored 21 points, and Devonte’ Graham added 15 to help the No. 13 Jayhawks (20-7, 10-4 Big 12) turn back the No. 20 Mountaineers (19-8, 8-6). West Virginia has still yet to win in Allen Fieldhouse, falling to 0-6 in the building. NEVADA 93, UTAH STATE 87 >> Cody Martin scored 30 points, and twin brother Caleb Martin added 23 to lead the No. 24 Wolf Pack (23-5, 11-2 Mountain West) to the road win. The Aggies (14-14, 7-8) have lost 14 straight to ranked opponents.
UCLA 86, OREGON 78 >> Aaron Holiday scored 29 points, and Kris Wilkes added 19 to lead the Bruins (19-8, 10-5 Pac-12) in overtime. Payton Pritchard scored 23 points for the Ducks (1710, 7-7). SANTA CLARA 72, PACIFIC
68>> KJ Feagin and Henry Caruso scored 18 points apiece, and Emmanuel Ndumanya had 15 points and nine rebounds as the Broncos (11-17, 8-8 WCC) held off the host Tigers (1415, 9-7). Pacific is fourth in the standings, one game ahead of Santa Clara, USF and San Diego. The top six teams earn a first-round bye in the conference tournament. USF 72, LOYOLA MARYMOUNT
63 >> Frankie Ferrari scored 17 points, and Chase Foster added 13 as the Dons (16-13, 8-8 WCC) have won four of their last five games. WYOMING 89, SAN JOSE STATE 75 >> Keith Fisher III scored 26 points and had 10 rebounds to lead the visiting Spartans (3-22, 0-14 MW), who have lost 14 straight, and Ryan Welage added 19 points. Hayden Dalton sank six 3-pointers and hauled in 10 rebounds to lead the Cowboys (17-10, 8-6). WASHINGTON 82, COLORADO 59 >> Matisse Thybulle scored 24 of his career-high 26 points in the second half as the Huskies (18-9, 8-6 Pac-12) snapped a threegame losing skid. Former Washington standout Isaiah Thomas, now with the Lakers, had his No. 2 jersey retired at halftime. USC 72, OREGON STATE 59 >> Elijah Stewart scored 28 points to lead the Trojans (19-9, 10-5 Pac-12) over the visiting Beavers (13-13, 5-9). USC remains tied for second place in the conference standings with UCLA. Women
CAL 78, STANFORD 66 >> Asha Thomas scored 25 points and was one of three Bears to hit a clutch 3-pointer down the stretch. Cal’s win at Haas Pavilion ended No. 14 Stanford’s seven-game winning streak. Kianna Smith had 14 points for Cal (18-9, 9-7 Pac-12), which made 10 of 12 free throws in the fourth quarter and outrebounded Stanford 4628.
Brittany McPhee had 24 points and Smith 20 for the Cardinal (19-9, 133), which dropped a halfgame behind league-leading Oregon. SAINT MARY’S 77, PORTLAND 49>> Stella Beck scored 25 points in the final regularseason home game of her career to lead the Gaels (18-9, 11-5 WCC) over the Pilots (6-21, 2-14). Megan McKay scored 18 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, her fifth straight game with double-digit rebounds. WYOMING 66, SAN JOSE STATE 64 >> The Spartans’ Myzhanique Ladd scored a game-high 26 points, but it was Marta Gomez’s basket with 00.7 seconds left that gave the visiting Cowgirls (18-7, 11-3 MW) the win. Host San Jose State (6-19, 3-11) never trailed until Gomez’s game-winner. SANTA CLARA 57, PACIFIC 55 >> The Broncos (9-18, 5-11 WCC) held the Tigers (1313, 7-8), the conference’s leading offense, to a season-low in points. Charise Holloway led host Santa Clara with 17 points.