Late Night Snacks: Oregon hands No. 4 Arizona its first loss

Games of the Night 

1. No. 9 Gonzaga 83, Saint Mary’s 78
The Bulldogs led by as many as 18 points and looked poised to run away with a big win in the first of two meetings between the WCC rivals. But thanks in large part to Stephen Holt the Gaels fought their way back into the game and even had a chance to tie the score in the final minute. Kelly Olynyk put together another good outing for Gonzaga, finishing with 31 points and eight rebounds, and Kevin Pangos added 22 points. Holt led Saint Mary’s with 23 points but Gonzaga did a good job of pestering Matthew Dellavedova (4-of-15 FG), limiting him to 14 points.

2. Florida Gulf Coast 72, USC Upstate 71 (OT) 
A Chase Fieler layup with two seconds remaining proved to be the difference as the Eagles moved to 4-1 in Atlantic Sun play. Bernard Thompson led five FGCU players in double figures with 19 points, and Torrey Craig paced USC Upstate with 24 points and 14 rebounds. Florida Gulf Coast won the game despite their bench not scoring a single points.

3. UC Davis 69, Cal Poly 67 
Thanks to the heroics of Corey Hawkins the final undefeated team (in conference play) in the Big West fell into a three-way tie for first place with Hawaii and Long Beach State. Hawkins’ shot as time expired gave the Aggies the win at home, with J.T. Adenrele leading the victors with 20 points. Dylan Royer, whose three free throws with nine seconds remaining tied the game at 67, led Cal Poly with a career-high 19 points.

Important Outcomes 

1. Oregon 70, No. 4 Arizona 66
The Ducks handed the previously undefeated Wildcats their first loss of the season thanks to a balanced effort on the offensive end. E.J. Singler led four starters in double figures with 14 points and Oregon’s front court outplayed the Arizona freshmen. Mark Lyons led all scorers with 21 points.

2. Miami 68, North Carolina 59
The Hurricanes moved to 2-0 in the ACC (both wins coming on the road) and did so without the services of Reggie Johnson, who remains sidelined with a broken left thumb. Julian Gamble (14 points and six rebounds) and Kenny Kadji (18 and nine) led four Miami players in double figures, while James Michael McAdoo led the Tar Heels with 14 points. Jim Larranaga’s team looks like an NCAA tournament team at this stage; not so sure the same can be said of North Carolina.

3. Xavier 57, Temple 52
On the heels of their close call at No. 6 Kansas, Temple didn’t perform so well in their Atlantic 10 opener at Xavier. Khalif Wyatt shot 2-of-11 from the field and as he goes so go the Owls, who need to turn around quickly as they host Saint Louis on Saturday night. As a team Temple shot 33.9% from the field and 4-of-20 from beyond the arc. Semaj Christon, who had to leave another game for a stretch due to cramps, led all scorers with 16 points.

Starred

1. F Damen Bell-Holter (Oral Roberts) 
Bell-Holter led the Golden Eagles to an 80-74 win over Northwestern State with 25 points (8-of-13 FG) and 20 rebounds. He’s scored 25 points or more in each of ORU’s three Southland games, including a 35-point, 14-rebound outing in their win over Southeast Louisiana last Thursday.

2. G Ian Clark and F Trevor Noack (Belmont) 
When the Bruins get rolling offensively the opposition is in trouble, as evidenced by their 107-72 beating of Southeast Missouri State. Clark (12-of-14 FG) and Noack (10-of-16 FG) scored 30 points apiece with Clark adding three rebounds, three steals and two assists while Noack grabbed seven boards.

3. C Kelly Olynyk (Gonzaga) 
Olynyk provided more evidence for the argument that he’s the most improved player in the country, tallying 31 points and eight rebounds in No. 9 Gonzaga’s 83-78 win over rival Saint Mary’s.

Struggled

1. Youngstown State
What happens when a team has as many turnovers (20) as made field goals and they also shoot 2-of-14 from beyond the arc? Said team gets run out of its own gym by the final score of 101-60 (Detroit did the honors).

2. F Alex Poythress and F Kyle Wiltjer (Kentucky) 
Yes the Wildcats hung on to beat Vanderbilt but just how far can Kentucky go if Poythress and Wiltjer are combining to score nine points (3-of-8 FG) and grab seven rebounds (six by Poythress)?

3. G Khalif Wyatt (Temple) 
Wyatt played extremely well on Sunday in a close loss at No. 6 Kansas but that was not the case tonight as the Owls fell 57-52 at Xavier. Wyatt shot 2-of-11 from the field, finishing with five points, three assists and three turnovers.

Three Facts

1. Three teams surpassed the 100-point mark on Thursday night: Belmont (107), Bryant (103) and Detroit (101). Belmont set a Curb Center record with its effort (highest total since scoring 117 in a game in 2001), Detroit scored the most points in a conference game since the 1995-96 season and Bryant set a school record for points in a game as a Division I member.

2. LIU Brooklyn’s 31-game win streak at the Wellness, Recreation and Athletic Center came to an end as the Blackbirds lost to Wagner 86-75. Wagner shot 59.2% from the field and 90% from beyond the arc in the win.

3. Old Dominion established a new school record in its 71-46 loss at George Mason as they shot 25% from the field. That’s the worst that the Monarchs have ever shot in a CAA game, and the 24 turnovers didn’t help matters either.

Other Notable Results 

No. 22 Michigan State 62, Iowa 59

Kentucky 60, Vanderbilt 58

Saint Louis 70, Massachusetts 62

UCLA 57, Utah 53

San Francisco 84, Santa Clara 80

Arizona State 72, Oregon State 62

Raphielle also writes for the NBE Basketball Report and can be followed on Twitter at @raphiellej.