LAWRENCE, Kansas — Colorado coach Todd Boyle was brutally honest after the Buffaloes’ season-opening, seven-game winning streak came to an end.
Ochai Agbaji scored 20 points and Devon Dotson added 18 points to lead No. 2 Kansas to a 72-58 victory over No. 20 Colorado on Saturday night.
“KU beat us tonight, I mean very soundly,” Boyle said. "People are going to see that score, but it really wasn’t even as close as the score indicated.”
Ten days after claiming the Maui Invitational title, the Jayhawks (7-1) built an early 6-0 lead over their former conference foes. David McCormack fueled the hot start, contributing six of the Jayhawks’ opening eight points.
Holding leading scorer Tyler Bey scoreless from the field through the first half, Kansas used a 9-0 run to build a 19-9 lead. Colorado (7-1) shot 26.9% from the field in the first half and that allowed the Jayhawks to take a 34-22 lead at halftime.
“We got a lot of open looks that just didn’t fall for us tonight,” McKinley Wright said “I wouldn’t take back our game plan and what we did. I don’t think we did nothing necessarily wrong.”
With Bey and D'Shawn Schwartz quieted, Evan Battey lead the way for the Buffaloes, scoring 14 points on a 5-for-8 shooting.
Schwartz picked up a technical foul on a dunk that temporarily quieted the raucous Kansas crowd, and Agbaji knocked down four 3-point baskets in the second half to keep the Buffaloes at a distance.
“I thought Ochai was by far our best performer today," Kansas coach Bill Self said.
Colorado forced 21 Kansas turnovers, but the Jayhawks shot 52.9% to outlast the Buffaloes.
“If we got a shot we were fairly efficient but obviously we’ve got to be better caretakers of the ball to play really good offensively,” Self said.
No. 13 OREGON 89, HAWAII 64
EUGENE, Ore.— Guard Will Richardson had a simple explanation for the difference between halves in Oregon's victory over Hawaii.
“Just the energy,” he said, “and picking up the intensity on defense."
Payton Pritchard had 20 points and a season-high 11 assists, and the Ducks snapped a two-game losing streak with a victory over the Rainbow Warriors on Saturday.
The teams were tied at 34 at the break but Oregon (7-2) opened the second half with a 20-1 run to pull away. The Ducks led by as many as 27 points down the stretch.
Oregon coach Dana Altman also used that word “energy'' for the Ducks' second-half takeover.
“We were standing around, kind of like in practice this week. We didn't have a great week in practice, and we were pretty stagnant, I thought, in that first half. The second half I just thought we played with a lot more energy,” Altman said. “Payton hit two big 3s to start, and it just kind of got us going. We needed a kick-start there.''
Eddie Stansberry led Hawaii (6-3) with 24 points, including a career-high seven 3-pointers. The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for the Rainbow Warriors.
The victory snapped a five-game Hawaii winning streak over the Ducks in the all-time series. The last win for Oregon came in the 1974-75 season.
Oregon had dropped its last two games, against No. 8 Gonzaga on Nov. 28 and No. 6 North Carolina the next day at the Battle for Atlantis in the Bahamas.
Oregon was without starting forward Shakur Juiston because of a lower leg injury. He was averaging 8.8 points and 6.5 rebounds a game.
Freshman C.J. Walker started in Juiston's place. He finished with a career-high 18 points. Richardson added 16.
“I thought they came out ready to play in the second half. I thought we were slow starting in the half on both ends of the floor. They went on a run over the course of the first few minutes and we never really responded, or got ourselves back on track after that. All credit to them, they came out the right way in the second half, and we need to be better coming out of the locker room. There's no moral victories in being tied with them at halftime," Hawaii acting coach Chris Gerlufsen said.
The Rainbow Warriors were coming off a 58-41 victory over Hawaii Pacific.
Hawaii jumped out to a 13-5 lead over the Ducks early after Stansberry's 3-pointer. Pritchard's 3 midway through the opening half pulled the Ducks into a 17-all tie, but Oregon was not able to go ahead until Anthony Mathis' 3-pointer made it 22-20.
Oregon's lead was short-lived, though. Stansberry answered with a 3 of his own to put Hawaii back in front.
Pritchard's layup and free throw put Oregon ahead 32-28 with a little more than two minutes left in the half, but the teams were tied up at the break.
Stansberry had 14 of his points, including four 3-pointers, to lead all scorers at the half. The senior guard went into the game averaging 18.8 points.
Pritchard opened the second half with a pair of 3s to kick off the Ducks' big run that gave them a commanding 53-35 lead.
Hawaii has been led this season by Gerlufsen while coach Eran Ganot is out on medical leave. Ganot stepped away before the season opener.
ARIZONA STATE 77, LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE 65
TEMPE — Romello White dominated inside. Rob Edwards poured in shots from the perimeter. Arizona State controlled the paint and won comfortably.
That's not what had Bobby Hurley's face turning red or his foot stomping the floor.
After a long stretch on the road, the Sun Devils returned home with a second-half clunker and their coach was not happy.
“We have to start getting it in gear, start trying to strive to play well so regardless of what the score is, you feel good about yourself after the game," Hurley said after Arizona State's win over Louisiana-Lafayette Saturday night. As much as we've been winning, I just haven't been like, ‘Wow, this really feels great, this really looks good.'"
Playing their first home game since Nov. 17, the Sun Devils (6-2) were good in stretches, seemed to be going through the motions in others.
White had his way inside, finishing with 19 points and 14 rebounds while getting the short-handed Ragin' Cajuns front court in foul trouble.
Arizona State used its size advantage to shoot 54% inside the 3-point arc — 6 for 26 outside it — and had a 38-20 advantage in the paint. The Sun Devils also scored 18 second-chance points on 16 offensive rebounds.
Edwards had 17 points and Remy Martin added 15.
“We need to get better defensively and we need to hit shots,” said White, who made 7 of 9 from the field. “When we play a team that's better than that team, it's going to be harder for us. We've got to lock down on defense and we've got to hit more shots.”
The young Ragin' Cajuns (5-4) kept it close early despite playing without starting forward Kobe Julien due to injury, but struggled with turnovers and Arizona State's size, particularly with their two starting forwards in foul trouble. ULL had 20 turnovers, leading to 22 points for the Sun Devils, but essentially played them even in the second half.
“They're the best team we've played outside of Cal-Irvine and it was important we showed some fight,” Louisiana-Lafayette coach Bob Marlin said. “Our goal after getting down early was to win the second half and I think we tied.”
Mylik Wilson and Cedric Russell had 16 points apiece to lead the Ragin' Cajuns.
Arizona State has been the road Devils during the nonconference season.
The Sun Devils opened in China against Colorado and stayed on the road most of the season's first six weeks, logging more than 19,000 air miles and 95 hours traveling.
Arizona State outlasted San Francisco 71-67 on Tuesday and returned to the desert to get in a couple home practices before facing the Ragin' Cajuns, who beat Southeastern Louisiana their previous game.
The Sun Devils had trouble finding the range from deep early in their return home, going 1 for 8 from 3-point range.
They made up for it with defense and overpowering the Ragin' Cajuns inside.
Arizona State made 13 of its 22 shots inside the arc with Louisiana starting forward Dou Gueye limited to three minutes due to foul trouble and scored 18 points on Louisiana's 13 first-half turnovers. Edwards and White had 11 points each to give the Sun Devils a 38-26 halftime lead.
The fouls began to pile up quickly for the Ragin' Cajuns to start the second half with Gueye, Trajan Wesley and Jalen Johnson all picking up their fourth in the opening three minutes.
Arizona State stretched the lead to 19, but Louisiana trimmed it to 69-59 with 3 1/2 minutes left before the Sun Devils hit a couple of late layups.
“I thought we controlled the tempo the whole game,” Marlin said. “Arizona State is an explosive team. They're obviously more talented than we are and bigger than we are, and outside the final two layups in the final minute, I thought we did a good job on them defensively.”
UTAH 98, CENTRAL ARKANSAS 67
SALT LAKE CITY — Timmy Allen had 19 first-half points, and 24 overall as Utah cruised past Central Arkansas for a win Saturday afternoon.
The Utes (7-2) started strong, quickly grabbing a 23-11 lead by the 12:10 mark of the first half. Central Arkansas (1-8) closed that gap to 30-26 with eight minutes left in the half.
“I thought we were locked in and ready to play,” Bears coach Russ Pennell said. “I liked what I saw the first half, especially the first ten minutes or so.”
Utah was ready to play as well, however, and they rode an 18-6 run to a 55-42 halftime lead over Central Arkansas. Bears guard Rylan Bergersen had 13 first-half points, but Central Arkansas turned the ball over too much for Bergersen’s efforts to keep the game close. Pennell pointed to his team’s 22 turnovers as a big reason for the Bears’ loss.
The second half started with the Utes down one player. Freshman Rylan Jones, who was integral in an overtime victory against in-state rival Brigham Young University on Wednesday night. Jones suffered a rib contusion in the first half and didn’t return, posting two points and an assist in nine minutes.
“He got a rib injury, he was smashed into pretty good,” Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak said after the game. Krystkowiak said Jones’ status for next week’s game was uncertain, as the team hadn’t yet evaluated Jones.
The Utes didn’t let Jones’ absence affect their second-half play, however, and stormed out of the locker room on a 31-6 run. That gave Utah an 86-48 lead with 10:36 remaining. Allen continued stuffing the stat sheet in the final frame, but had plenty of help from his teammates in building the Utes’ big lead.
Alfonso Plummer pitched in 18 points, Booth Gach scored 13 with five assists and three rebounds. Allen added eight rebounds and five assists.
“Timmy’s doing a nice job leading us, sharing the ball at times, getting his teammates involved,” Krystkowiak said.
As a team, Utah shot 11 of 30 (36.7%) from behind the arc — 35 of 69 (50.7%) overall — and made 17 of 22 (77.3%) at the foul line.
For Central Arkansas, their offensive output stagnated for much of the second half. Bergersen finished with 21 points, four rebounds, and three assists. Eddy Kayouloud was the only other Bears player to score in double figures, finishing with 13 points and eight rebounds.
WASHINGTON STATE 63, NEW MEXICO STATE 54
SPOKANE, Wash. — With 11 minutes left in the game and his team clinging to a 2-point lead, Washington State's CJ Elleby turned to his teammates on the floor and said "'This is our game.''
He was right.
Elleby scored 20 points as Washington State hung on to beat New Mexico State on Saturday at the Spokane Arena.
The sophomore is taking more of a leadership role this year.
“'I can get my teammates going a little more,'” Elleby said. "'Just being a team player is one thing I try to focus in on."'
Jeff Pollard added nine points and 10 rebounds for Washington State (5-4), which was picked to finish 11th in the Pac-12 this season. Tony Miller also scored nine in the defensive battle.
‘"This was a big win for us,’" Pollard said, noting the Aggies beat Washington State twice last year.
Washington State coach Kyle Smith pointed to a defensive effort that held New Mexico State to 34% shooting and forced them into 17 turnovers.
"'I can't think of anyone that didn't have a nice defensive effort,"' Smith said.
The game plan was to take away the Aggies' ability to hit 3-pointers and stay even on the glass, Smith said.
New Mexico State made just 5-of-28 from 3-point range, and won the rebound battle just 42-37.
Jabari Rice and Trevelin Queen each scored 14 points for New Mexico State (5-5), which had won both previous meetings of these teams. The Aggies play in the Western Athletic Conference.
New Mexico State coach Chris Jans said his team played flat in the first half, but improved in the second.
"'But it was too little, too late,"' Jans said.
‘"Turnovers and 3-point shooting were our Achilles’ heel," Jans said. "'We had a hard time knocking down shots."'
This was Washington State's annual game in Spokane, where they have an 18-17 record.
In the first half, New Mexico State went on a 9-0 run to take an 11-8 lead.
But Washington State put together a 16-2 run of its own, capped by Marvin Cannon's 3-pointer, to build a 27-16 lead late in the first.
Washington State led 30-21 at halftime, largely by holding the Aggies to 36% shooting while hounding them into 11 turnovers. Washington State shot just 32% in the first, but made seven 3-pointers while New Mexico State sank just two.
Elleby scored Washington State's first nine points of the second half as the Cougars built a 39-25 lead.
Ivan Aurrechoechea had a pair of baskets as the Aggies scored 11 consecutive points to cut WSU's lead to 39-36. The Cougars went more than four minutes without a field goal.
The Aggies got within 41-39, but the Cougars replied with a 12-2 run for a 53-41 lead.
Queen sank a 3-pointer as the Aggies cut WSU's lead to 53-49.
But Washington State sank its free throws and the Aggies could get no closer in the final minutes.
“'Somewhere in there we found enough in us to fight back,'” Smith said of his Cougars. ‘"It wasn’t pretty.'"
SANTA CLARA 71, CALIFORNIA 52
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Less than five minutes into the first half against California, Santa Clara coach Herb Sendek had already gone five players deep into his bench. It was more by design than necessity.
That’s the way the Broncos have been all season, and it’s paying off for a team that Sendek says is his deepest in his fourth season at Santa Clara.
“We don’t necessarily have a team where somebody has to carry us,” said Sendek, after four Broncos scored in double figures in a 71-52 win over the Golden Bears on Saturday. “We’re at our best when we’re a team. It’s a team sport, and to the measure that we can play together and as a team, it’s to our benefit.”
Guglielmo Caruso had 16 points and a career-high 12 rebounds, and Santa Clara built an early double-digit lead and coasted past California for its 11 consecutive home win.
DJ Mitchell added 14 points and seven rebounds, and Jalen Williams scored 12 points to lead the Broncos to their first win over the Golden Bears in 26 years.
“It matters a lot,” Caruso said. “Last year we faced Cal and we lost really badly. We were really young. That experience from last year translated into this year and helped us to get this W.”
Santa Clara (9-2) bounced back from a 31-point loss at Nevada and dominated its Bay Area rival despite 20 turnovers.
Matt Bradley scored 14 points on 4-of-15 shooting for California. The Bears (5-4) after opening the season with four consecutive wins.
“We created a lot of open shots to start the game and they didn’t go in,” California coach Mark Fox said. “I felt like the frustration of the ball not going in the basket contributed maybe to our play on the other end. I don’t think our defense was anywhere good enough the entire night.”
The Broncos never trailed after Caruso’s two free throws made it 19-18 midway through the first half and led by 19 behind the 1-2 punch of Caruso and Josip Vrankic.
Caruso made his first five shots, two coming off putbacks. Three of Caruso’s rebounds came on the offensive glass.
Vrankic hit two 3s, added a steal and drove nearly the length of the court for a layup, then made a wraparound pass in the paint to Jaden Bediako as part of a 15-2 run that helped the Broncos pull away in the first half.
Williams and Mitchell took over in the second half, pairing up for 18 of Santa Clara’s 31 points after the break.
“It’s nice to know that you have teammates that can help you when maybe it’s not going your way,” Caruso said. “It started really good for me and then I didn’t really find any more opportunities. But then Josip went and did his part of the job then DJ then Jalen. Everyone (did) something to help us get this win.”
