Late Night Snacks: Gonzaga and Washington State’s thrilling finish
Dec 6, 2012, 1:59 AM EDT
Games of the Night
No. 10 Gonzaga 71, Washington State 69: The Zags and Wazzu played one of the best early season basketball games you’re going to see. Gonzaga erased a four-point halftime deficit on the strength of Elias Harris and Kelly Olynyk, going up by 11 points late in the second half. But Brock Motum and Devante Lacy got hot from the perimeter, eventually taking advantage of a couple of missed free throws by the Bulldogs in order to tie the game with 7.8 seconds left. Lacy went coast-to-coast, breaking Gary Bell’s ankle with a crossover in the process. But Kevin Pangos didn’t hesitate, taking the in-bounds and answering with a coast-to-coast drive of his own.
Olynyk and Harris combined for 45 points on 20-31 shooting from the floor. Lacy and Motum also combined for 45 points, hitting nine threes in total.
Charlotte 73, Davidson 69: The 49ers looked like they may be for real. Thanks to Pierria Henry’s baseline jumper with 27.5 seconds left in the game, Charlotte took a 71-69 lead and hung on to win after De’Mon Brooks drove into three defenders and missed a layup. Chris Braswell led the way for Charlotte, finishing with 15 points. This is a group that was overlooked heading into the season, but if they keep winning, Atlantic 10 foes are going to have to start taking them seriously.
St. Louis 67, North Texas 63: Jordair Jett and Cody Ellis finished with 17 points apiece as the Billikens won their second straight game since the passing of former head coach Rick Majerus. It’s the first time this season that they have won back-to-back games. Jett broke a 61-all tie with 35 seconds left, and Ellis hit four free throws down the stretch to ice the game.
Chris Jones had 21 points, seven assists and seven boards to lead the way for the Mean Green, who dropped to 3-6 on the season. Tony Mitchell had 18 points and eight boards.
Important Outcomes
Colorado 70, Colorado State 61: Colorado jumped out to a 42-17 lead late in the first half, and while the Rams were able to cut the lead to three points with about five minutes left, the comeback proved to take too much out of them; Colorado responded with a run of their own and finished off the win. This was a performance that Tad Boyle’s team needed. They struggled to hold off Texas Southern and lost at Wyoming last week after breaking into the top 25, looking like they bought into their own hype.
The Rams will be just fine. They ran into a buzzsaw tonight in a rowdy environment. It happens. The concern, however, is that Colorado State’s issue last season, especially in league play, was their performance on the road.
No. 18 New Mexico 75, USC 67: New Mexico closed out the first half with a 22-4 run, taking control as Hugh Greenwood caught fire from beyond the arc. He hit five threes and finished with 17 points, while Alex Kirk went for 13 points and 13 boards and Kendell Williams chipped in with 13 points and nine assists.
Starred
Geron Johnson, Memphis: Johnson went for a team-high 21 points, shooting 8-11 from the floor, as the Tigers ran over a good Ohio team, 84-58. Johnson looked like the most talented perimeter scorer Josh Pastner has at his disposal.
Spencer Dinwiddie, Colorado: 29 points on just 8-10 shooting. A big win over a big rival. Nights don’t get much better than that.
Kevin Willard, Dayton: The Flyers went into Tuscaloosa and beatdown Alabama, 81-76. Dillard was the star of the show, finishing with 25 points and six assists.
Tyreek Duren, La Salle: Duren went for 29 points as La Salle blew out Penn State at home.
Struggled
Florida State: The Seminoles lost their third straight game on Wednesday, losing by 25 at home to No. 6 Florida. FSU was down 50-19 at one point. They shot 34.6% from the floor. They turned the ball over 22 times.
Jarnell Stokes, Tennessee: For the second straight game, Tennessee failed to crack the 40 point mark. On Wednesday night, Stokes finished with five points on 2-5 shooting. That’s not going to cut it.
Villanova: The Wildcats lost by 15 at home to Big 5 rival Temple, their fourth loss in the last five games. They turned the ball over 20 times in the loss.
The Rest of the Top 25
- No. 19 Michigan State 76, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 44
- No. 23 Oklahoma State 61, South Florida 49
Notable Scores
- West Virginia 69, Marshall 59
- Niagara 62, Loyola 61
- Northern Iowa 76, Northern Colorado 59
- St. Mary’s 88, Drake 73
- Utah 76, Boise State 55
Three Facts
- Loyola Marymount won his 300th game tonight, beating Northern Arizona in overtime. Anthony Ireland had 28 points in the win.
- Maryland beat UMES 100-68, the first time that a Mark Turgeon team has reached triple digits since he lost to Baylor 116-110 in five overtimes at Texas A&M.
- Tennessee has lost three games this season. They have scored a total of 119 points in those three games. That’s a total of 39.7 points.
And one fight
That wasn’t even a real fight.
Rob Dauster is the editor of the college basketball website Ballin’ is a Habit. You can find him on twitter @robdauster.
-
FIBA
Oregon State picked up a late 2013 commitment when 6-2 combo guard Malcolm Duvivier opted to sign his letter of intent on Friday after previously being a member of the 2014 class. Duvivier — a native of Toronto — was previously regarded as Rivals’ No. 116 player in the 2014 national rankings before filling an…
-
Report: Tennessee center Makanjuola transfers to UNC-Wilmington
May 18, 2013, 10:02 AM EDT
AP
Tennessee sophomore center Yemi Makanjuola has opted to transfer to UNC-Wilmington, per a Tweet from Brian Mull of StarNews. Makanjuola — a 6-9, 250-pound native of Nigeria — will have two years of eligibility remaining after NCAA transfer rules force him to sit out next season. Makanjuola will be eligible in the 2014-15 season and saw action…
-
Washington guard C.J. Wilcox undergoes surgery on left foot
May 17, 2013, 9:02 PM EDT
AP
One month after making the decision to return to Washington for his senior season, second team All-Pac-12 selection C.J. Wilcox underwent surgery on his left foot to stabilize a stress fracture that according to the Associated Press lingered for much of the 2012-13 season. The purpose of the surgery was to stabilize the fifth metatarsal…
-
AP
Last May 6-7 forward Sheldon Jeter chose to attend Vanderbilt, picking the Commodores over Penn State and Wisconsin and South Carolina with Pittsburgh showing some interest late but never offering the Beaver Falls, Pa. native. Jeter played 17.5 minutes per game as a freshman, averaging 5.5 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. And after one…
-
AP
In the immediate aftermath of Steve Alford’s decision to leave New Mexico to take over as head coach at UCLA, many wondered how much would he have to pay UNM in order to get out of his contract. While Alford and his representation argued that the coach, who led the Lobos to four Mountain West…
-
Reuters
A good week on the recruiting front for the Xavier coaching staff got even better Friday afternoon. 6-4 guard Remy Abell, who spent his first two seasons at Indiana, announced his decision to transfer to Xavier as reported by multiple outlets. Abell won’t be eligible to play this season per NCAA transfer rules, but he will…
-
Marshall bolsters backcourt depth with addition of Jaylen Brantley
May 17, 2013, 5:23 PM EDT
ny2lasports.com
With three guards, most notably leading scorer DeAndre Kane, deciding to transfer Marshall head coach Tom Herrion was in need of some extra depth for his backcourt in 2013-14. Thanks to a commitment from 2013 combo guard Jaylen Brantley, the Thundering Herd won’t go into next season shorthanded in that area. Brantley, who played at…
-
Report: Sandi Marcius transferring to DePaul for final season
May 17, 2013, 4:36 PM EDT
AP
Last month it was reported that Purdue forward Sandi Marcius was running into a major complication in regards to his decision to graduate and then transfer to another school where he would be able to play as a graduate student. That major complication was Purdue’s refusal to pay for the summer school courses Marcius needs…
-
Report: Nebraska to open Pinnacle Arena against Florida Gulf Coast
May 17, 2013, 3:21 PM EDT
Getty Images
Florida Gulf Coast was one of the best stories of the 2013 NCAA tournament, becoming the first 15-seed to reach the Sweet 16 and earning the moniker “Dunk City” (thanks to Troy Machir) with their attractive style of play and penchant for above the rim finishes. And next season the Eagles, under new head coach…
-
AP
After two quiet seasons at the University of Texas, sophomore Jaylen Bond made the decision to transfer. Bond, a 6-7 forward from Philadelphia, averaged just 3.1 points and 4.1 rebounds in just under 14 minutes per game during his Longhorn career. Friday, Bond announced his decision to transfer to Temple via Twitter and it’s safe…
-
WCC, commissioner Jamie Zaninovich agree to three-year extension
May 17, 2013, 1:43 PM EDT
Getty Images
In his six seasons as commissioner of the West Coast Conference, Jamie Zaninovich has helped the conference improve its brand in a variety of ways. Whether it’s been the addition of BYU (Pacific joins this summer) or the idea to move the conference basketball tournaments to Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, it’s safe to say…
-
Getty Images
While in Chicago taking part in this week’s NBA Draft Combine, former Kansas shooting guard had to answer some questions regarding the allegations levied by his former AAU coach, Darius Cobb, a couple weeks ago. In a story done by USA Today in early May, Cobb stated that he accepted $10,000 from a runner in…
-
Report: Rutgers head coach Eddie Jordan fills out coaching staff
May 17, 2013, 10:52 AM EDT
AP
With the decision to keep assistants David Cox and Van Macon on board due in large part to their ability to recruit the Washington, D.C. and New York areas respectively, new Rutgers head coach Eddie Jordan has one assistant position left to fill. According to multiple reports Jordan has found his man, as former Los…
-
FIBAEurope.com
A few days after landing a verbal commitment from 2014 point guard Edmond Sumner, the Xavier basketball program made an addition to its 2013 recruiting class on Thursday. 6-8 forward Aleksandar Vezenkov, a native of Bulgaria, will attend Xavier next season according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. Vezenkov played in 20 games this past season for…
-
City of Chicago, DePaul announce plans for new multipurpose facility
May 16, 2013, 9:20 PM EDT
AP
Three days after it was reported that Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel would announce plans for a new project that would include a new arena for the DePaul basketball program the mayor did just that, unveiling plans with the hope of beginning construction in 2014. The multipurpose facility (which authorities hope will be completed in time…
-
Oklahoma basketball pioneer ‘Buddy’ Hudson, 75, passes away
May 16, 2013, 7:49 PM EDT
Oklahoma Athletic Communications/Kansas City Star
The name Harold “Buddy” Hudson may not be one that immediately sparks vivid memories amongst older college basketball fans, but the name is a very important one in the history of Oklahoma Basketball. Tuesday morning Hudson suffered a heart attack and passed away in Kansas City at the age of 75. Hudson is survived by his wife,…
-
After one season at Villanova assistant coach Raphael Chillious has returned to the Washington program, the Pac-12 school announced in a press release Thursday. As a member of Lorenzo Romar’s staff from 2010-12 Chillious helped the Huskies win three conference titles (one regular season and two tournament titles), and the combination of his return and the…
-
Rutgers announces addition of Iowa State transfer Nkereuwem Okoro
May 16, 2013, 5:41 PM EDT
Iowa State Athletic Communications
Rutgers announced the official addition of two players to the men’s basketball program on Thursday, as both incoming freshman Junior Etou and former Iowa State win Nkereuwem “Kerwin” Okoro are now Scarlet Knights. Okoro, a 6-5 guard who played his high school basketball at St. Raymond’s High School in the Bronx, played in just nine…
-
Report: Former Stetson guard Chris Perez transferring to Canisius
May 16, 2013, 4:31 PM EDT
Jim Hogue Photos/Stetson University
The 2012-13 season was a successful one for first-year Canisius head coach Jim Baron, who managed to win 20 games and lead the Golden Griffins to their first postseason appearance since then-head coach John Beilein led the program to the NCAA tournament in 1996. Coach Baron will welcome back son Billy for his senior campaign…
-
Scott Phillips/NBC Sports
FRISCO, Tx. — After the St. Louis Eagles lost on Friday night to the Jackson Tigers in the opening night of the EYBL Dallas Session they didn’t slump off the court and hang their heads. Well, they did, but they didn’t have much time to stand and sulk as they were quickly summoned to the…