Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Late Night Snacks: Saint Mary’s, California improve respective resumes

Matthew Dellavedova, Randy Bennett

St. Mary’s ‘s Matthew Dellavedova (4) talks with head coach Rand Bennett in action against Gonzaga during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Moraga, Calif., Thursday, Feb. 14, 2013. Gonzaga won 77-60. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

AP

Game of the Night: Saint Mary’s 64, BYU 57

The Gaels, in the first of two games that will have a significant impact on their NCAA tournament hopes, did enough late to hold off the Cougars in Moraga. Matthew Dellavedova scored 20 points and Beau Levesque added 17 for the Gaels, who host Creighton on Saturday evening in an important non-conference battle.

Brandon Davies paced BYU with 25 points but the Cougars are now 0-2 against the Gaels this season, and even if they beat No. 3 Gonzaga next Thursday BYU will most likely need to win the WCC tournament in order to get to the Big Dance.

Important Outcomes

1. California 48, No. 23 Oregon 46

A Justin Cobbs jumper with seven tenths of a second gave the Golden Bears their sixth win in the last seven games, while also tightening things atop the Pac-12 standings. Cobbs finished with 14 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, and with a sweep of the Ducks and a win over No. 12 Arizona to their credit the Golden Bears have two key tiebreakers in their possession. Oregon was once again without point guard Dominic Artis, and Arsalan Kazemi tallied 11 points and 18 rebounds inside.

2. Temple 82, La Salle 74

La Salle entered the Liacouras Center with hopes of winning their first-ever outright Big 5 title, but left having to share it with the rival Owls. Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson was outstanding for Temple, finishing with 23 points, 18 rebounds and five assists to lead four Owls in double figures. Temple picks up another quality win for their resume, and it remains to be seen just how many teams the Atlantic 10 (six?) can get into the field of 68.

3. Illinois 64, Penn State 59

The Fighting Illini didn’t shoot particularly well (39.5%) but they did enough to hold off a Penn State team that’s now 0-14 in Big Ten play. D.J. Richardson (18 points) and Brandon Paul (16) led the way for Illinois, who avoided what would have been a bad loss from a resume standpoint. The Nittany Lions may still be winless in Big Ten play but Patrick Chambers’ team continues to play hard, and Jermaine Marshall scored a game-high 20 points to pace PSU. Their best shot at a league win: March 7 at Northwestern.

Starred

1. F Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson (Temple)

Hollis-Jefferson was the star of the Owls’ 82-74 win over La Salle, finishing with 23 points, 18 rebounds and five assists. The point and rebound totals are both career-highs for him.

2. G/F Nick Paulos (UNC Greensboro)

Paulos was hot from beyond the arc in the Spartans’ 94-68 win over Chattanooga, hitting ten of 12 from deep and scoring 30 points. As a team UNCG shot 20-of-36 from three.

3. G Devon Saddler (Delaware)

Saddler finished with 31 points (9-of-14 FG, 11-of-15 FT), two assists and two steals in the Blue Hens’ 73-71 double overtime win over Drexel.

Struggled

1. Chattanooga’s three-point defense

The Mocs entered Thursday’s home game against UNC Greensboro allowing SoCon opponents to hit 37.7% of their three-pointers, a figure that ranked 11th in the conference. UNCG shot 20-of-36 from three, rolling to the 94-68 victory.

2. F E.J. Singler (Oregon)

Singler had a rough night offensively, shooting 1-of-12 and scoring seven points in the Ducks’ 48-46 loss to California.

3. Fairleigh Dickinson players not named Kinu Rochford

Rochford shot 10-of-15 from the field in the Knights’ 69-63 loss at Saint Francis (PA), scoring 21 points and grabbing 15 rebounds. His teammates combined to shoot 16-of-50 (32%).

Three Facts

1. Middle Tennessee wrapped up the Sun Belt regular season title with an 85-50 win over South Alabama, guaranteeing the Blue Raiders of an automatic bid to the postseason NIT should they need it. Kermit Davis’ team has been the class of the Sun Belt, and obviously they hope the distinction translates into a trip to the NCAA tournament after they were upset in last year’s conference tournament.

2. The leaders in the race for Big East Coach of the Year are likely Marquette’s Buzz Williams, Georgetown’s John Thompson III and Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim, but Connecticut’s Kevin Ollie deserves some recognition as well. The Huskies moved to 8-5 in league play with a 73-66 overtime victory over Cincinnati, with Shabazz Napier scoring 27 points to lead the way.

3. Ryley Beaumont’s layup with eight seconds remaining proved to be the difference in Elon’s 63-62 win over Samford, clinching the North Division title (Southern Conference) for the Phoenix.

Top 25 Scores

No. 6 Duke 88, Virginia Tech 56

California 48, No. 23 Oregon 46

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