College basketball roundup: Stanford, Cal men fall in Pac-12

Boogie Ellis scored a career-high 33 points and handed out seven assists to guide USC to an 85-75 victory over visiting Stanford on Saturday night.

Ellis sank 9 of 16 shots from the floor, including 6 of 10 from 3-point range, and made all nine of his free throws for the Trojans (19-8, 11-5 Pac-12 Conference). Drew Peterson finished with 21 points and seven rebounds. Reese Dixon-Waters came off the bench to hit two 3-pointers and score 12.

Harrison Ingram led the Cardinal (11-16, 5-11) with 15 points, nine rebounds and three steals. Reserve Michael Jones added 14 points. Spencer Jones and Brandon Angel scored 11 points apiece.

Ellis scored 15 first-half points on 5-of-8 shooting from 3-point range, and USC built a 41-30 lead. Peterson added 11 points as the Trojans sank 9 of 16 shots from beyond the arc. Stanford buried 5 of 10 from distance before intermission, but the Cardinal yielded four offensive rebounds that led to eight second-chance points for USC.

Stanford closed to within 45-38 on Maxime Raynaud’s dunk with 15:15 left to play. Peterson buried a 3-pointer and Ellis had back-to-back baskets in a 7-2 run and the Cardinal got no closer than nine from there.

USC shot 49% overall and made 13 of 25 from beyond the arc. Stanford shot 46% and hit 8 of 20 from distance. The Cardinal outscored USC in the paint 38-22. The Trojans had a 15-5 edge in fast-break points.

UCLA routs Cal by 35 points

Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 20 points and No. 4 UCLA routed last-place Cal 78-43 on Saturday night to improve to 15-0 at Pauley Pavilion this season and extend the nation’s longest home winning streak to 23 games.

Amari Bailey contorted his body every which way in adding 16 points and nine rebounds for the first-place Bruins (23-4, 14-2 Pac-12). They clinched a first-round bye in next month’s Pac-12 Tournament.

Their 11th win in a row over last-place Cal was essentially an exhibition game, with the Bruins leading all the way and drawing loud cheers for three dunks by Adem Bona and acrobatic moves around the basket by Bailey.

Jaquez stole the ball and fed Bailey for a one-handed dunk midway through the second half. Bailey returned the favor on the next play, finding Jaquez under the basket for an easy layup that extended UCLA’s lead to 59-22, its largest of the game. Bailey later hit a 3-pointer.

Kuany Kuany scored 14 points to lead the Golden Bears (3-24, 2-14), who dropped their 11th in a row. They fell to 0-3 against top-5 teams this season, having also lost a pair against No. 8 Arizona.

Trailing 59-22, the Bears ran off 10 straight points during their only big run of the game.

The Bruins led 38-15 after a dominant first half. They held the Bears to 18% shooting, outrebounded them 25-14 and outscored them 20-6 in the paint. Cal didn’t score its first basket until six minutes into the game.

Saint Mary’s men top BYU

Logan Johnson scored 27 points and Aidan Mahaney delivered once again in the second half to lead No. 17 Saint Mary’s to a 71-65 victory over visiting BYU on Saturday night for the Gaels’ 15th win in 16 games.

Mahaney scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half and Mitchell Saxen added 13. The Gaels (24-5, 13-1 West Coast Conference) won their 16th straight conference home game to maintain a one-game lead over Gonzaga in the standings.

Fousseyni Traore scored 16 points to lead the Cougars (16-14, 6-9). BYU has lost four straight and was swept in the season series by the Gaels.

Mahaney hit the game-winner in the closing seconds of a 57-56 win at BYU three weeks ago. He stepped up again in the second half of the rematch.

With the Gaels leading by two early in the second half, Mahaney got a steal and assist on Johnson’s fast-break basket to start the key sequence. He then hit a step-back 3-pointer and two more free throws to build a 50-41 lead.

The Cougars then cut a 13-point deficit to 63-60 on a 3-pointer by Dallin Hall just before the shot clock expired with about four minutes left.

Hall missed two 3-pointers that could have tied the game before Traore’s layup cut it to 63-62 with two minutes left.

Johnson answered with a layup at the other end for Saint Mary’s and Mahaney put the game away with a 3-pointer with 46.8 seconds to play to give the Gaels the win in the final regular-season meeting between the teams before BYU leaves for the Big 12 next season.

Johnson scored 14 points in the first half — mostly on drives — and Saint Mary’s led 33-27 at the break.

Santa Clara cruises past Portland

Keshawn Justice scored 22 points and visiting Santa Clara cruised to a 103-84 victory over Portland on Saturday night.

Justice also had five rebounds for the Broncos (21-8, 9-5 West Coast Conference). Carlos Stewart added 17 points, while Brandin Podziemski hit four3-pointers and scored 16.

Michael Meadows led the Pilots (13-16, 5-9) with 39 points. Tyler Robertson added 16 points and Moses Wood had nine points and eight rebounds.

UC Irvine slips past UC Davis

Dawson Baker’s 18 points helped UC Irvine defeat visiting UC Davis 78-76 on Saturday night.

Baker was 6 of 12 shooting, including 2 for 5 from distance, and went 4 for 5 from the line for the Anteaters (19-8, 12-3 Big West Conference). DJ Davis scored 18 points and Bent Leuchten added 14.

The Aggies (15-12, 8-7) were led in scoring by Elijah Pepper, who finished with 32 points, six rebounds and two blocks. UC Davis also got 17 points, six rebounds and five blocks from Christian Anigwe.

Pacific edged out late by Loyola Marymount

Cameron Shelton scored a career-high 40 points and made a layup with seven seconds left to lift Loyola Marymount over visiting Pacific 90-88 on Saturday night.

Shelton made 13 of 21 shots from the floor, including 6 of 11 from 3-point range. He made 8 of 11 free throws and grabbed five rebounds for the Lions (18-11, 8-7 West Coast Conference). Alex Merkviladze had 12 points and Keli Leaupepe scored 11.

The Tigers (13-16, 6-8) were led by Judson Martindale with 19 points. Keylan Boone added 15 points and Jordan Ivy-Curry scored 13.

Shelton scored 20 points in each half for LMU.

Sacramento State holds off Idaho State

Callum McRae’s 21 points helped Sacramento State defeat visiting Idaho State 70-65 on Saturday night.

McRae also had 15 rebounds for the Hornets (13-15, 6-9 Big Sky Conference). Cameron Wilbon added 14 points while shooting 6 for 11, including 2 for 4 from beyond the arc, and he also had six rebounds. Akolda Mawein was 4 of 6 shooting and 4 of 5 from the free-throw line to finish with 12 points. The win broke a six-game skid for the Hornets.

The Bengals (9-19, 6-9) were led in scoring by Miguel Tomley, who finished with 16 points, six rebounds and four assists. Idaho State also got 15 points from Kolby Lee. Maleek Arington also recorded 11 points.

Saint Mary’s women fall to Gonzaga

Yvonne Ejim scored 25 points and Kaylynne Truong hit four 3-pointers and added 14 points to help No. 20 Gonzaga beat Saint Mary’s 65-51 Saturday and extend its win streak against the Gaels to six.

Ejim hit a jumper and Truong followed with a 3-pointer to make it 5-0 and the Bulldogs never trailed. Brynna Maxwell was fouled as she hit a 3-pointer and made the and-1 free throw to cap a 10-2 run and give Gonzaga a 19-10 lead with 6:13 left in the second quarter. Maxwell, who finished with nine points on 2-of-9 shooting, has made at least one 3-pointer in each game this season.

Gonzaga (25-3, 15-1 West Coast Conference) has won four in a row and 19 of 20 since an 84-63 loss at then-No. 2 Stanford.

Tayla Dalton hit a 3-pointer from the logo as time expired in the first half and Hannah Rapp made a layup to open the third quarter and trim the Gaels' deficit to 27-22. Ejim answered with a pair of free throws and then hit a 3-pointer to spark a 13-2 run that culminated when Truong made back-to-back 3s that gave Gonzaga a 16-point lead midway through the period.

Ali Bamberger led Saint Mary’s (12-16, 6-11) with 13 points and Taycee Wedin scored 10.

The Gaels have lost four of their last five games and eight of their last 10.