UW TOPS RIVAL NO. 18 WASHINGTON STATE 74-68
PULLMAN, Wash. (AP) — Koren Johnson scored 23 points, Keion Brooks Jr. added 22 and Washington knocked off No. 18 Washington State 74-68 in the final Pac-12 Conference matchup between the cross-state rivals.
“Really proud of our guys,” Coach Hopkins said after the win. “To be able to play against your rival on the road – our guys competed, we kept being resilient, kept playing and we made some plays.”
Johnson nailed a corner 3-pointer with 1:21 left that proved to be the final blow, putting the Huskies up 68-61.
The Huskies held Washington State to 4 of 24 from 3-point range to hand the Cougars just their second home loss of the season.
It was Washington’s first road win over a ranked opponent since beating Kansas on Dec. 6, 2017.
Washington (17-14, 9-11) used an 11-0 run midway through the second half to take the lead for good, which included a three from Brooks and Johnson’s jumper to make it 61-53.
The Cougars pulled to 63-60, but couldn’t get closer. Washington State struggled badly at the free-throw line, hitting just 8 of 17.
UW held leading scorer Myles Rice to eight points on 2-of-9 shooting. Rice and Jaylen Wells, who made the game-winning three in the overtime win in February in Seattle, combined for just 17 points on 1-of-12 3-point shooting.
Washington State shot 39% for the game and started 1 of 12 from behind the arc.
Johnson, who started just his first conference game of the season, is averaging 18.7 points and 4.2 assists in his last seven games.
The Huskies will watch the Pac-12 scoreboard the rest of the week before discovering their seed in the conference tournament, which starts Wednesday. UW can be no lower than No. 9.
NO. 5 ARIZONA THRASHES UCLA TO CLINCH FINAL PAC-12 REGULAR-SEASON TITLE
LOS ANGELES (AP) — KJ Lewis scored 18 points, Caleb Love added 17 and No. 5 Arizona routed UCLA 88-65 to clinch the Pac-12 regular-season title Thursday night in the Wildcats’ final season in the league.
The Wildcats (24-6, 15-4 Pac-12) got some help in the Pacific Northwest, where Washington defeated second-place Washington State 74-68. Arizona is headed to the Big 12 next season, while the Bruins are bound for the Big Ten.
Jaden Bradley added 13 points for Arizona, which had five players in double figures while winning its fourth in a row. The Wildcats earned their first win at Pauley Pavilion under third-year coach Tommy Lloyd, who was 0-2 in the building.
The Bruins had won five in a row at home against Arizona, but the Wildcats took over after the game was tied three times in the opening minutes.
They outscored UCLA 29-12 the rest of the first half to lead 44-27 at the break, with the large number of Arizona fans chanting “U of A! U of A!” Love scored his first 12 points during that spurt, while the Bruins went scoreless over the final two minutes.
Arizona picked up where it left off after halftime. The Wildcats opened with a 15-6 run, including six points by Oumar Ballo, who dunked twice. Pelle Larsson and Ballo hit back-to-back 3-pointers in extending the lead to 59-33. Arizona led by 26 twice after that.
Lazar Stefanovic scored 20 points to lead UCLA (14-16, 9-10). The Bruins got 18 points from Dylan Andrews and 10 from foul-prone Adem Bona in losing their season-worst fifth in a row.
The Wildcats trailed by 19 against the Bruins at home in January before rallying to win 77-71. UCLA couldn’t turn the tables and never put together a sustained run in the second half.
Ballo finished with nine points and three rebounds, ending his run of nine consecutive double-doubles.
BIG PICTURE
Arizona: The Wildcats head into next week’s Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas mindful that they lost twice to Washington State by three points. Their only other league losses came against Stanford and Oregon State, both on the road.
UCLA: The Bruins need to beat Arizona State to finish at .500 in the league standings and head into the conference tourney with a modicum of momentum. They’ll have to play a first-round game in Las Vegas.
UP NEXT
Arizona: Visits Southern California on Saturday to conclude the regular season.
UCLA: Hosts Arizona State on Saturday in its last game before the Pac-12 Tournament.
WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
WOMEN’S TOP 25 ROUNDUP: NO. 13 OREGON ST. TOPS NO. 18 BUFFS IN 2OT
Raegan Beers poured in 27 points and No. 13 Oregon State overcame a 12-point, fourth-quarter deficit to beat No. 18 Colorado 85-79 in double overtime in the quarterfinals of the women’s Pac-12 tournament on Thursday in Las Vegas.
Beers completed a double-double with 13 rebounds for the fourth-seeded Beavers (24-6), who also got 13 points apiece from Donovyn Hunter, Talia von Oelhoffen, Timea Gardiner and Dominika Paurova.
Gardiner came up in the clutch, scoring seven points as part of a 15-3 regulation-closing run from Oregon State. Paurova’s trey gave the Beavers a 63-61 lead with 22 seconds to go in the first extra session, but Jaylyn Sherrod canned a short jumper 12 seconds later to extend the game.
Neither team led by more than two in the first three minutes of the second overtime. Oregon State then pulled away with an 8-0 burst, and it led by at least four the rest of the way.
Sherrod paced the fifth-seeded Buffaloes (22-9) with 23 points, six rebounds, seven assists and four steals. Aaronette Vonleh posted 20 points before fouling out, and Frida Formann netted 19 in the loss.
No. 24 Louisville 58, Boston College 55
Nyla Harris scored a team-high 14 points and converted a go-ahead layup with 32 seconds left as the Cardinals edged the Eagles in the second round of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in Greensboro, N.C.
T’yana Todd hit a 3-pointer to put Boston College (14-19) up 55-52 with 3:41 remaining, but Louisville (24-8) proceeded to end the game on a 6-0 run. Kiki Jefferson, Olivia Cochran and Sydney Taylor each added nine points for the fifth-seeded Cardinals, with Harris and Jefferson also grabbing nine rebounds apiece.
The 13th-seeded Eagles got a game-high 22 points on 8-of-17 shooting from Teya Sidberry. Todd and Dontavia Waggoner each chipped in 12 points for Boston College, which trailed by as many as nine in the third quarter before moving in front with 11 unanswered points to close the period.