Jason Kapono scored 20 points and Earl Watson added 17 as UCLA defeated No. 19 Southern California 80-75 Thursday night in a highly charged game that knocked the Trojans from a share of first place in the Pac-10.
The host Bruins (8-4) won their fourth straight and maintained a share of first place in the conference with No. 1 Stanford at 3-0.
It was also the 99th career victory for coach Steve Lavin, who was taunted by USC fans shouting Rick Pitino’s name. UCLA Athletic Director Peter Dalis has spoken twice to Pitino in the last month, although Dalis said the conversations didn’t involve Lavin’s job.
The Trojans (12-3, 2-1) had their three-game winning streak snapped and lost their eighth straight at Pauley Pavilion, where they last won in 1993.
USC’s Sam Clancy tied his career high with 31 points. He grabbed his 13th rebound in the closing seconds and passed to David Bluthenthal, who had a three-point attempt blocked that would have tied the game.
It was the first time in 39 years that the teams met when USC was ranked and UCLA wasn’t. On Feb. 2, 1962, the unranked Bruins upset No. 5 USC 73-59.
Stanford 73, Oregon St. 49: Casey Jacobsen hit four three-pointers and scored 15 of his 19 points in the second half as the No. 1-ranked Cardinal (14-0, 3-0 Pac-10) managed one point in the first eight minutes but came alive in plenty of time to beat the visiting Beavers (6-8, 0-2).
Reserve Julius Barnes had a career-high 15 points and Jason Collins had 13 in Stanford’s first game since ascending to No. 1.
Arizona 84, Wash. St. 51: Gilbert Arenas hit six three-pointers and scored 22 points as the No. 21 Wildcats (9-5, 2-1) beat the Cougars (6-6, 0-3) in a Pac-10 game at Spokane, Wash.
Arizona, which improved to 2-3 under assistant head coach Jim Rosborough, has won 31 straight against Washington State, dating to 1986.
Done deal? Rick Pitino plans to head for Las Vegas early next week and, barring any unforeseen obstacles, will shortly be introduced as UNLV’s next head coach, according to the Boston Globe.
“I think it could be very soon,” Pitino said. “They’ve made it clear that they want me. I just have to go out there and check out the situation myself. It will all be decided in the next two weeks.”
Women
Michigan 71, Penn St. 62: LeeAnn Bies scored 20 of her season-high 21 points in the first half as the host Wolverines (9-6, 2-3) upset the No. 13 Lady Lions (11-5, 3-2) in a Big Ten game.
Illinois 75, Ohio St. 73: Iveta Marcauskaite scored on a layup with four seconds remaining, giving the visiting Illini (8-8, 3-1) a Big Ten victory over the Buckeyes (11-4, 1-4), who dressed only six players for the game because of injuries.
Wisconsin 72, Michigan St. 56: Jessie Stomski scored 18 points to help the visiting Badgers (8-5, 3-1) to a Big Ten win over the Spartans (8-7, 2-2).
Tennessee 99, S. Carolina 45: Semeka Randall had a career-high 28 points–22 in the first half–as the second-ranked Lady Vols (15-1, 3-0) were never challenged in a Southeastern Conference victory over the visiting Gamecocks (6-9, 2-1).
Georgia 72, Florida 59: Kelly Miller scored a season-high 28 points and the No. 4 Lady Bulldogs (14-2, 2-0) finished the game with a 15-0 run for an SEC victory over the No. 10 Gators (13-2, 2-1) at Athens, Ga.
Duke 86, Ga. Tech 83: Alana Beard scored 29 points, including two free throws with 8.5 seconds left, as the No. 5 Blue Devils (15-1, 3-1) beat the visiting Yellow Jackets (10-5, 2-3) in an Atlantic Coast Conference game.
La. Tech 75, N. Texas 63: Takeisha Lewis scored all seven of her first-half points in a 19-0 run as the No. 8 Lady Techsters (13-4, 4-0) beat the host Eagles (10-5, 2-2) in the Sun Belt Conference game for their 750th victory in school history.
LSU 61, Arkansas 54: Marie Ferdinand scored 21 points and the No. 9 Tigers (11-4, 2-1) came from eight points behind at halftime to beat the visiting Razorbacks (9-6, 0-3) in an SEC game.
SW Mo. St. 81, Southern Ill. 70: Jackie Stiles scored 23 points in leading the No. 15 Bears (10-3, 4-1) to a Missouri Valley Conference win over the host Salukis (4-9, 1-3).
Clemson 67, Wake Forest 45: Chrissy Floyd had 17 points, five steals and four assists to lead the No. 16 Tigers (12-4, 3-2) to an ACC win against the visiting Demon Deacons (8-7, 1-4).
Vanderbilt 91, Kentucky 61: Chantelle Anderson scored 32 points and Zuzana Klimesova added 28 to lead the No. 18 Commodores (13-2, 2-0) to the SEC win over the host Wildcats (4-10, 0-3).
N.C. St. 71, Temple 64: Kay Yow became the fifth coach to reach 600 victories, directing the No. 19 Wolfpack (11-4) over the visiting Owls (9-4).
Oregon 86, Cal 56: Angelina Wolvert scored 16 points as the No. 20 Ducks (9-3, 2-0) beat the visiting Bears (4-9, 0-3) in the Pac-10 game.
Oregon St. 81, Stanford 65: Felicia Ragland scored 20 points as the host Beavers (9-3, 1-1) built a huge halftime lead and went on to upset the No. 24 Cardinal (7-6, 1-2) in a Pac-10 game.
Alabama 60, Auburn 53: Shondra Johnson scored 12 points, all on free throws, to help the host Crimson Tide (13-3, 0-1) beat the No. 25 Tigers (13-2, 1-1) in an SEC game.
UIC 63, Wright St. 55: Kimberly Henry scored 21 points and the host Flames (4-10) shot a season-high 51 percent as they opened Midwestern Collegiate Conference play with a win over the Raiders (3-11).
