Watson leads No. 4 Gonzaga in 117-83 blowout of Pepperdine

Associated PressJan 9, 2022, 4:36 PM EST

James Snook-USA TODAY Sports

SPOKANE, Wash.- Fourth-ranked Gonzaga had to postpone its first three conference games because of COVID-19 issues within the program, but when the Bulldogs got back on the basketball court, they were firing on all cylinders.

Anton Watson scored 19 points, Drew Timme and Chet Holmgren scored 18 each, and No. 4 Gonzaga routed Pepperdine 117-83 on Saturday night. The win extended the nation’s longest home winning streak to 60 games.

Hunter Sallis scored 13 and Rasir Bolton and Julian Strawther had 12 points each for Gonzaga (12-2, 1-0 West Coast Conference), which was playing its first game since Dec. 28.

“We have a lot of guys who can put the ball in the hole and we like to share,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said.

“I think we were crisp” despite the layoff, Few said. “You worry about that. We were terrific on defense and played with great purpose on offense.”

Watson came off the bench to make 7 of his 12 shots and added six rebounds and a couple of steals.

“Anton was good around the basket,” Few said. “He’s finally asserting himself.”

Houston Mallette scored 21 points and Jan Zidek 16 for Pepperdine (6-10, 0-1), which was playing its first game since Dec. 23. Pepperdine had won four of its previous five games, but was hampered by 42.7% shooting and 18 turnovers.

Pepperdine coach Lorenzo Romar did not meet with reporters after the game.

Gonzaga has a 42-game winning streak in the series, with Pepperdine last beating the Zags in 2002. That’s the third longest streak in Division I history.

This game was decided early, and Gonzaga scored a season-high in points.

Timme scored nine points and Gonzaga made 10 of its first 12 shots to lead 26-7 barely five minutes into the game. Holmgren’s 3-pointer gave the Zags a 36-14 lead with about 10 minutes left in the first.

The Waves started making some shots, but Watson and Bolton pushed Gonzaga to a 63-41 lead at halftime and 56% shooting in the half.

Mallette led Pepperdine with 13 first-half points, but the Waves shot just 40% in the first and committed 10 turnovers.

Gonzaga opened the second half with a 13-1 run to take a 76-42 lead, and Timme’s basket put Gonzaga up by 40 at 92-52 with just over 11 minutes left.

FOUR TO THE DANCE

Few said the most important goal for the West Coast Conference in rescheduling postponed games is to strengthen the chances of sending four teams to the NCAA tournament. Gonzaga, BYU, Saint Mary’s and San Francisco all have a chance to get there, Few said, adding, “that has to be the priority.”

INSIDE GAME

Gonzaga scored 68 points in the paint, compared to 32 for the Waves. The Zags won the rebound battle 51-36.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Gonzaga should stay put after handily defeating the Waves.

BIG PICTURE

Pepperdine: The Waves didn’t have enough firepower to hang with Gonzaga, which seemed to score at will. … After being off for 15 days because of COVID-19 issues, Pepperdine will now play seven games in 13 days.

Gonzaga: The Bulldogs have won 25 consecutive conference openers dating to 1996. … The Bulldogs came into the game leading the nation in field-goal shooting at 52.1%.

UP NEXT

Pepperdine: Hosts San Diego on Monday.

Gonzaga: Hosts rival Brigham Young on Thursday. The Cougars were the last WCC team to beat Gonzaga – on Feb. 22, 2019. The Zags have won 22 straight conference games since, which is the longest streak in the nation.

“We’ll be tested on Thursday,” Few said. “BYU always plays, crazy, crazy hard.”

NC State, Texas A&M move up in women’s AP Top 25; UConn tops

Associated PressFeb 22, 2021, 9:50 PM EST

Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

UConn remained the No. 1 team in The Associated Press women’s college basketball poll after blowing out its two opponents last week.

The Huskies received 28 of 30 first-place votes on Monday from a media panel after holding St. John’s and Xavier to 32 points apiece in routs.

North Carolina State returned to the No. 2 spot and Texas A&M climbed to third after South Carolina and Louisville – the previous second- and third-ranked teams – lost games. The Wolfpack had a two-week run at No. 2 last month.

It’s the highest ranking for the Aggies (20-1), who received one first-place vote, since the 2008-09 season, when they were third for three weeks. Coach Gary Blair’s team can win the Southeastern Conference regular-season title with victories over Alabama on Thursday and South Carolina on Sunday. The Gamecocks fell to fifth after losing to Tennessee.

Stanford received the remaining first-place vote and moved up to No. 4 in the poll. The Cardinal have a huge Pac-12 showdown against No. 9 Arizona on Monday night.

Louisville dropped to No. 6 after losing at Florida State on Sunday. The Cardinals were followed by Baylor, Maryland, Arizona and UCLA.

The Bruins had an impressive 27-point victory over then-No. 13 Oregon on Friday night but lost to Oregon State by seven on Sunday.

Rutgers entered the poll for the first time this season at No. 25 while Northwestern fell out. The Scarlet Knights have won all five of their games since returning from a five-week pause due to coronavirus issues. They’ve won those games by average of 22.5 points and scored at least 70 in all of them, the first time the school has done that since the 1997-98 season.

The Scarlet Knights play at Michigan State and Penn State this week.

Here are a few other tidbits from the poll.

STREAKING BULLS

No. 13 South Florida matched the best start in school history with victories over Tulane and Cincinnati to go 13-1 on the season. The Bulls, however, lost a spot in the poll after 11th-ranked Indiana jumped them with a victory over No. 12 Michigan.

SNAPPED

No. 21 Gonzaga saw its 17-game winning streak end with a 61-56 loss Thursday at BYU. The Zags’ previous loss came in overtime against South Dakota State on Dec. 6. The Bulldogs dropped five spots in the latest poll. They close out the regular season at home against Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount this week.

GAME OF THE WEEK

South Carolina at Texas A&M, Sunday: The regular-season championship should be on the line when the top two teams in the conference meet Sunday. This game could go a long way in determining a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. South Carolina, Mississippi State and Tennessee are the only teams to win the regular-season crown since the Aggies entered the conference in 2012.

Townsend lifts No. 16 Gonzaga women past San Diego 69-47

Associated PressFeb 21, 2021, 10:07 AM EST

Clifford Oto/The Stockton Record

SAN DIEGO — Jill Townsend scored 16 points, Kayleigh Truong added 13 and No. 16 Gonzaga bounced back after its first loss in more than two months with a 69-47 win over San Diego on Saturday.

Townsend scored just three points in a 61-56 loss to BYU on Thursday but had 12 points in the first quarter when the Bulldogs raced to a 23-10 lead, showing no ill effects from having their 17-game winning streak end.

Against the third-place Toreros, who only played three games in January, including a 58-56 win over BYU because of coronavirus issues, Gonzaga hit 10 of 17 shots shots in the first quarter, including three 3s. San Diego only had a brief 47 seconds in the third quarter trailing by less than double digits.

Melody Kempton had 10 points for Gonzaga (19-3, 14-1 West Coast Conference), which has won 10-straight in the series. Jenn Wirth had 12 rebounds.

Steph Gorman had 13 points for the Toreros (12-6, 9-4) and Myah Pace added 11. Second-leading scorer Jordyn Edwards did not play and forward Kendall Bird left the game midway through the first quarter with an injury and didn’t return. Edwards and Bird had started every game.

San Diego, which allows 58.5 points and is second in the nation with 14.1 steals a game, only forced Gonzaga into 14 turnovers, seven of them steals.

The Bulldogs, who allow 56.5 points, had 11 steals among their 18 forced turnovers. They also held the Toreros to 27.5% shooting (14 of 51). It was their lowest scoring game since shooting 27.1% in a conference opening loss.

Gonzaga closes out the regular season with two home games, beginning Thursday against Pepperdine. San Diego is home against Pepperdine on Monday.

No. 1 Gonzaga overcomes slow start, beats Pepperdine 97-75

Associated PressJan 30, 2021, 11:44 PM EST

Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

MALIBU, Calif. — Top-ranked Gonzaga proved again Saturday night that it might be one of the deepest teams in the country.

The Bulldogs had six players score in double figures in a 97-75 rout of Pepperdine. It is the second time this season the Bulldogs have had six or more players score in double figures.

“Scoring might not be the primary role for some guys but with this team everyone is so good,” said Aaron Cook, who had a career-high 15 points off the bench. “You have to pick your poison and live with the results. It is hard to focus on two guys when the rest of the team can score.”

Drew Timme led the way with 19 points and Corey Kispert, the West Coast Conference’s leading scorer, added 16 for Gonzaga (17-0, 8-0 West Coast Conference), which has won 21 straight games dating to last season. Andrew Nembhard came off the bench and finished with 17 points and eight assists,

The Bulldogs, who lead the nation in scoring offense, were 28 of 34 on 2-point field goals with all but eight of those baskets being layups.

Pepperdine jumped out to a 15-7 lead before Gonzaga took control with a 21-2 run. The outburst included 16 straight points. Timme had six points during the seven-minute span while Anton Watson and Cook added four apiece.

The Bulldogs missed four of their first five shots before making 13 of the next 17. They had a 49-34 lead at halftime, with their largest advantage being 32 points late in the second half.

“In the first half, our defense got us going. Pepperdine got after us a little bit early and then I thought our defense started making some plays which allowed us to get in transition,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said.

Colbey Ross led Pepperdine (7-8, 3-3) with 16 points and seven assists, and Sedrick Altman scored 14.

“Gonzaga took advantage when we were negligent with the ball and made us pay for it,” coach Lorenzo Romar said. “They exploited us and exposed every weakness that we had. It’s that simple. We can talk about improving, but they were better than us.”

HOT, THEN COLD

Pepperdine made seven of its first 10 from the field before going 7 of 24 the remainder of the first half. The Waves missed eight straight shots and committed four turnovers during Gonzaga’s run of 16 straight points.

BATTLING BACK

Gonzaga has trailed for only 21 minutes, 42 seconds in its eight conference games. The Bulldogs trailed for 8:32 during the first half on Saturday, marking only the second time they have been behind for eight or more minutes.

BIG PICTURE

Gonzaga: The Bulldogs have won their WCC games by an average of 25.3 points. All of them have been by double digits, with the 14-point win over Saint Mary’s being the closest.

Pepperdine: The Waves were looking to continue their momentum after Wednesday’s win over BYU, but couldn’t sustain it. They have lost 41 straight to Gonzaga, which is tied for the third-longest losing streak to an opponent in NCAA Division I basketball history.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Gonzaga will extend its streak to 11 consecutive polls as the nation’s top-ranked team when the new AP Top 25 is released on Monday afternoon. It will also mark the first time since Kentucky in 2015 that a school has been at the top from preseason to the first week of February.

UP NEXT

Gonzaga was scheduled to host Loyola Marymount on Thursday, but the Lions game against San Diego was postponed on Saturday after a positive test. If Thursday’s game is called off, the Bulldogs’ next game won’t be until Feb. 11 at Santa Clara.

Pepperdine faces San Diego on Thursday in the second of three straight home games.

No. 7 Arizona women hold off No. 9 UCLA 68-65

Associated PressDec 6, 2020, 12:02 PM EST

Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

TUCSON, Ariz. — Arizona had stretches of offensive consistency, struggled keeping UCLA off the offensive glass and had some defensive breakdowns in transition.

The Wildcats made up for it with a dominating third quarter and some big plays down the stretch to beat a top-10 team.

Not a bad way to kick off the Pac-12 season, no matter how it looked.

Trinity Baptiste had 18 points and 11 rebounds, Aari McDonald added 17 points and No. 7 Arizona held off No. 9 UCLA 68-65 on Friday night.

“It was a very ugly win,” Arizona coach Adia Barnes said. “Normally, you play these type of games another month from now, so it’s a big difference playing in early December. Both teams, you’re not as sharp, less cohesiveness.”

Arizona (2-0) went up eight on a 3-pointer by Baptiste, but the Bruins rallied with a 9-1 run, pulling within 67-65 on Charisma Osborne’s 3-pointer with 12 seconds left.

Arizona’s Cate Reese made 1 of 2 free throws to give UCLA (1-1) a last chance and the Bruins worked the ball around to Osborne. Her 3-pointer with 5 seconds left hit the back of the rim and UCLA couldn’t get off another shot after Michaela Onyenwere grabbed the offensive rebound.

“We got a good look, I just missed the shot,” Osborne said.

Arizona labored early against the physical Bruins and shot 6 of 25 from 3-point range. The Wildcats made up for it with stifling defense in the third quarter and some big shots late to win the first meeting with both teams in the top-10 since 1998.

UCLA used an 18-4 run spanning the first and second quarters to go up nine, but missed 17 of 18 shots in the third quarter as Arizona surged into the lead. Osborne led UCLA with 15 points, and Onyenwere finished with 13 points and 16 rebounds.

“We’re going to look at the film and there’s going to be a lot of little things we didn’t take care of that allowed them to make the run that they, did,” said UCLA coach Cori Close, who was denied her 200th career win.

Both teams entered this pandemic-shifted season with lofty expectations.

Arizona had highest ranking ever at No. 7 in The Associated Press preseason poll with the return of McDonald, a preseason All-American, Reese and Sam Thomas.

The Wildcats opened the season with a 16-point win over Northern Arizona.

UCLA had four players return from a 26-win team last season and opened at No. 9 in the AP Top 25. The Bruins crushed Cal State Fullerton 98-59 in their opener before having Sunday’s game against Pepperdine postponed due to coronavirus concerns.

Defense dominated early in the desert showdown.

UCLA led 14-12 after the first quarter despite going more than six minutes without a field and opened the second with an 11-2 run to go up nine. The Bruins led 38-32 at halftime.

The Bruins went cold again in the third quarter, missing 16 straight shots during a scoreless drought of nearly 6 1/2 minutes. Arizona took advantage, going on a 9-0 run to go up 48-42.

“We sort of panicked and started going one on one,” Close said. “Against a team with the athleticism and defensive prowess of Arizona, that’s not a good idea.”

UCLA began hitting shots again in the fourth quarter to pull within 58-56 with three minutes left. McDonald followed with a putback and Baptiste hit a straight-on 3-pointer to pushed the lead back to eight.

The Bruins rallied, but came up just short.

THE TAKEAWAY

UCLA rallied after an abysmal third quarter, but couldn’t make it all the way back to miss a chance at a top-10 road win.

Baptiste dominated at times, McDonald came alive in the second half and Arizona held off UCLA’s late rally for a big confidence-boosting victory.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Barring a loss to Southern California on Sunday, the Wildcats should remain at No. 7 in next week’s poll, if not move up. The Bruins could still stay in the top 10 without a loss to Arizona State on Sunday.

UP NEXT

UCLA: At Arizona State on Sunday.

Arizona: Hosts Southern California Sunday.

Smith, No. 22 Bruins need 3 OTs to beat Pepperdine 107-98

Associated PressNov 28, 2020, 1:29 PM EST

Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports Images

SAN DIEGO — The UCLA Bruins have two days before their home opener to try to get their legs back under them after a physically taxing three-overtime thriller against Pepperdine.

Tyger Campbell and Jules Bernard hit 3-pointers early in the third overtime, and Chris Smith added a three-point play to finish with 26 points and lead No. 22 UCLA to a 107-98 victory Friday.

Jaime Jaquez Jr. played all 55 minutes while Campbell played 52 and Smith 51.

“There’s a lot of film that we’re going to show tomorrow as we take ice baths,” second-year coach Mick Cronin said. “I’m going to put my head in a bucket of ice and I’m going to have Tyger and those guys take cold tubs, Jaime and Chris, who played 50 minutes.”

Jaquez, a sophomore swingman who had a heads-up play to keep the Bruins alive in the second OT, was thinking the same thing.

“I know when I go back I’m probably going to take a nap, get a good night’s sleep, get in an ice bath and do whatever I’ve got to do to prepare for the next game we’ve got,” he said.

Senior guard Colbey Ross also played all 55 minutes and had 33 points to become Pepperdine’s all-time leading scorer but it wasn’t enough to keep the Waves (1-1) from losing their sixth straight to UCLA and their 38th straight to a ranked opponent. Ross hit a floater to send the game into a second overtime tied at 81 but missed a 3-pointer that forced a third OT.

Campbell and the Bruins (1-1) came out strong in the third extra period to avoid a second straight upset loss to open the season. Campbell hit a 3-pointer off the tip and Bernard scored from behind the arc to counter a layup by Ross and give UCLA a 95-91 lead.

Smith, who also had 12 rebounds, scored inside with 3:15 left, was fouled and converted for a 98-93 advantage.

“Three overtimes is definitely draining,” Smith said. “The couple times I went out, one time was because of foul trouble and the other time coach told me as soon as I came out, to tell him when I was ready. Fifty minutes was what it took to get a win tonight, so if I have to play 50 minutes every single night, I’m going to do it as long as we come out with the win.”

Campbell scored 10 of his 22 points in the third overtime. Bernard had 21, Jaquez 16 and Cody Riley 13.

UCLA was routed 73-58 by San Diego State on Wednesday night in the four-team event at Viejas Arena.

Kessler Edwards scored 17 points for Pepperdine while Jan Zidek had 14, Jade Smith 12 and Kene Chukwuka 10.

Bernard and Riley fouled out for the Bruins, while the Waves lost Edwards, Smith and Chukwuka.

“They’re hard to defend,” Cronin said. “Our first three halves this year, our defense wasn’t up to par and that’s on me. But we did what we had to do adjustment-wise at halftime and the guys stepped up their effort and energy.”

UCLA held Pepperdine to 30% shooting in the second half but couldn’t close out the Waves in the first 40 minutes.

“We just didn’t finish the game,” Cronin said. “We were playing small and we couldn’t get a rebound and they hit two 3s off second shots.”

Both teams had chances to win it in regulation after UCLA blew a six-point lead.

With the score tied at 70, Jaquez missed a 3-pointer with 3.7 seconds left. After a review, the officials had the clock reset to 7.3 seconds. Pepperdine’s Darryl Polk Jr. turned the ball over under pressure from Riley, and UCLA then threw the ball out of bounds. Pepperdine’s Smith missed a tip-in at the buzzer.

Zidek, whose father, George, was on UCLA’s 1995 national championship team, made a jump hook with 1:06 left in the second overtime to give Pepperdine an 89-88 lead. Jaquez missed two free throws with 8.3 seconds left but rebounded his second miss, was fouled again and made the first of two free throws to tie it at 89.

Ross missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer to bring on a third OT.

Ross became Pepperdine’s all-time leading scorer when he sank the second of three free throws with 15 seconds left in the first half to give him 1,787 points and move past Stacy Davis. Ross set the mark in 25 fewer games than Davis. It was the 100th consecutive start for Ross, who has 1,809 career points.

“You have to credit UCLA for making the plays at the end when we didn’t,” Pepperdine coach Lorenzo Romar said. “It’s too bad that we weren’t able to pull it out for a number of reasons, but it would have been good to enjoy a win like that while also celebrating Colbey Ross becoming the program’s all-time leading scorer.”

Those three free throws, which came when he was fouled by Jaquez while taking a 3-pointer, helped the Waves to 39-32 halftime lead. Ross had 12 points in the first half.

BIG PICTURE

Pepperdine: The Waves haven’t beaten a ranked opponent in exactly 16 years, at home against No. 20 Wisconsin. Their last victory against a ranked foe away from home was Nov. 28, 2001, at No. 10 UCLA, which was the last time the Waves beat the Bruins. The 38 straight losses to ranked teams include 23 to Gonzaga in West Coast Conference play.

UCLA: The Bruins were again without junior forward/center Jalen Hill (right knee tendinitis) and sophomore guard Johnny Juzang (stress reaction, right foot).

UP NEXT

Pepperdine hosts San Jose State of the Mountain West on Wednesday night.

UCLA hosts Long Beach State on Monday night.