Tag: NCAA Basketball

Oumar Barry scores career-high 12 points, but San Jose State’s comeback falls short again in 76-67 loss to UNLV

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Photo credit: @SJSUMBB

By: Ana Kieu

LAS VEGAS — After the San Jose State Spartans lost a close game to the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels 82-76 at the Event Center on Jan. 3, they traveled 520 miles to the Thomas & Mack Center for a conference rematch on Jan. 31.

Prior to the match, San Jose State was a cellar-dwellar who lost nine consecutive games, while UNLV just won their previous game, 88-78, over San Diego State on Jan. 27. So it was safe to say that both teams wanted to win this one badly.

The Spartans got off to a fast start with a 5-0 run early in the first half. Ashtin Chastain made a layup and Noah Baumann followed up with a 3-pointer. The Runnin’ Rebels then gave the Spartans a hard time as they went on a 14-2 run in a span of 2:50 to put SJSU behind 16-9 at the 12:41 mark of the half.

The Spartans responded, regaining a lead (26-23) with 7:25 left in the half, thanks to Keith Fisher’s offensive skills. Ryan Welage made the most out of his chance to extend SJSU’s lead, nailing a three for the final bucket of the half.

Yet, SJSU continued to trail UNLV 39-34 at the half. Welage led all Spartans in scoring with 12 points. The Spartans had eight assists and two turnovers.

Prior to a media timeout, SJSU trailed UNLV 70-61 with 4:15 left in the second half. The Spartans reduced the lead to 71-63 on Fisher’s jumper, but the Runnin’ Rebels went ahead 76-63 with just a little over a minute remaining in regulation. UNLV’s Jordan Johnson hit a three and Shakur Juiston followed with a slam dunk.

Spartans’ Jaycee Hillsman made two layups with less than a minute remaining, but the Spartans fell short as they lost to the Runnin’ Rebels 76-67.

Despite the loss, four Spartans in D-F scoring and Welage led with 21 points. The Spartans had a season-low seven turnovers. Oumar Barry had a career-high 12 points.

For the Runnin’ Rebels, Brandon McCoy had 22 points and 17 rebounds.

Notes
Spartans’ starting lineup: Ashtin Chastain, Ryan Welage, Keith Fisher, Noah Baumann and Jalen James.

For the Spartans, this was their last #Assist4Literacy game of the season. Feel free to make any last minute pledges at pledgeit.org/sjsu.

Up Next
SJSU heads home to host New Mexico on Saturday at 3 pm PT.

San Jose State arrives in Las Vegas, ready to take on UNLV

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Photo credit: sjsuspartans.com

By: Ana Kieu

LAS VEGAS — The San Jose State Spartans flew out of the Bay Area and arrived in Las Vegas Wednesday afternoon. They got ready for round two with the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels at the Thomas & Mack Center.

 

Here are the game notes and stats you need to know: /

Spartans prepare for Runnin’ Rebels

San Jose State will take on UNLV on Wednesday night at 8 pm PT on AT&T SportsNet.

UNLV escaped with a 82-76 overtime win over SJSU in their first matchup this season at the Event Center.

Spartan fans can tune into KLIV 1590 AM to listen to Justin Allegri’s play-by-play. The pregame show begins at 7:30 pm PT.

Game #21
SJSU (3-17, 0-9 MW) at UNLV (15-6, 4-4 MW)
Wednesday, January 31, 2018, 8:00 pm PT
Thomas & Mack Center (18,000)
Las Vegas, Nevada
TV: AT&T SportsNet
Radio: KLIV 1590 AM
Series: UNLV leads, 36-6
Last Meeting: UNLV defeated SJSU, 82-76, in overtime in San Jose on January 3, 2018.
Just some history

SJSU defeated UNLV in both meetings last season, making it the first time since the 1993-94 season. But the Runnin’ Rebels got revenge in San Jose earlier this season with an 82-76 overtime win.

UNLV holds a 36-6 lead over the Spartans in the all-time series. Prior to last season, they haven’t lost a game to SJSU since 1996.

Most recent meeting
SJSU made a 10-point comeback in the final 4:50 of regulation and forced overtime, but UNLV came out on top in overtime for an 82-76 win. The Spartans closed out regulation on a 12-2 run, thanks to Ryan Welage and Noah Baumann. However, some late miscues in overtime along with the failure to secure enough rebounds cost SJSU what could’ve been their third straight win over UNLV. Welage finished with a team-high 23 points and Baumann finished with 12 points–all from beyond the arc. Brandon McCoy led UNLV with 23 points.

The Ryan Welage show
Ryan Welage scored a new career-high 37 points in SJSU’s 80-76 overtime loss to Wyoming on Saturday. He scored 25 points in the second half, helping SJSU erase a 16-point deficit. He made 12-of-20 field goals–both career-highs–and knocked down 11-of-12 free throws. His 37 points are the second-most by an individual in the MW this season behind Chandler Hutchison’s 44-point performance against San Diego State on January 13. Welage was on the floor for all 45 minutes of the game against Wyoming.

Jalen James nearly gets triple-double
Senior point guard Jalen James is currently playing his best basketball of the season. He nearly got a triple-double in SJSU’s last game against Wyoming. He finished the night with nine points, nine rebounds and eight assists. He was the floor for a career-high 42 minutes and helped the Spartans get out of a 16-point deficit in the second half and force overtime. He took the ball the length of the court with 5.1 seconds left in regulation and made a layup to send the game into overtime. He’s averaging 6 points, 4.1 assists and 4 rebounds over his last three games.

Noah Baumann is league’s most accurate 3-point shooter

Freshman wing Noah Baumann is shooting 60.0 percent (18-30) from beyond the arc during league play, which ranks first among all MW players. He has been deadly all year long from downtown with an overall percentage of 51.7 (31-60).

UNLV got a taste of what Baumann could do in the first meeting this year when he hit 4-of-5 shots from beyond the arc. Some defenses in league play have clamped down on Baumann including the last game against Wyoming where he only took one shot.  New Mexico and SDSU allowed him to take only six shots combined. However he’s had break through games of three-plus hits from deep in four MW games.

Field goal percentage defense remains solid 

SJSU’s current 43.1 field goal percentage defense is the best it’s had in a very long time. The Spartans took the MW’s fifth-ranked 42.4 field goal percentage defense into the beginning of last week before Boise State knocked down 53.1 percent of its shots on Wednesday, followed by 44.1 percent on Saturday by Wyoming.

If the season with that 42.4 percentage, it would be the best for any Spartan team since the 2000-01 season. Last season, Spartan opponents hit 46 percent of their shots. UNLV hit 47.3 percent of its shots against the Spartans in the first meeting of the season.

SJSU outshoots Wyoming

SJSU shot 48.4% (30-62) on Wednesday night compared to Wyoming’s 44.1% (30-68). It’s the sixth time in nine MW games that the Spartans have finished with a higher shooting percentage than the opponent and the fourth time have equal or more amount of made field goals.

Yet, the Spartans come into Wednesday’s tilt winless in league play. In games where SJSU outshoots its opponent, it’s generally turnovers and 3-point shooting that push the game in the opponents’ favor. The Spartans’ 17.6 turnovers per game are the most in Division I basketball, and MW foes have made an average of 8.2 or more three-point baskets per game than SJSU.

Welage continues to climb the SJSU career ranks

Ryan Welage became the 15th player in SJSU men’s basketball history (108th season) to score 1,000-career points on January 9, 2018, at SDSU. Since then, he’s worked his way up to 12th place on the all-time scoring list and is just 11 points shy of passing Sid Williams for 11th.

Welage now has 136 made 3-pointers in his career, ranking third on the Spartans’ all-time list. He is two away from tying Adrian Oliver with 138 made threes and then he’ll only be trailing the program’s all-time leader, Tim Pierce, who made 153.

1. 1,767 – Ricky Berry (84 games)
2. 1,750 – Adrian Oliver (80 games)
3. 1,504 – Stu Inman (123 games)
4. 1,432 – Wally Rank (102 games)
5. 1,272 – Justin Graham (119 games)
6. 1,236 – Chris McNealy (81 games)
7. 1,173 – Coby Dietrick (72 games)
8. 1,139 – Terry Cannon (97 games)
9. 1,136 – Johnnie Skinner (73 games)
10. 1,125 – Ken Mickey (82 games)
11. 1,095 – Sid Williams (111 games)
12. 1,085 – Ryan Welage (81 games)
13. 1,050 – S.T. Saffold (72 games)
13. 1,050 – Olivier Saint-Jean (51 games)
15. 1,049 – Carroll Williams (75 games)

San Jose State men’s basketball podcast with Ana Kieu: SJSU fall short in effort vs. Wyoming; face UNLV in Sin City Wednesday; plus further info

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Photo credit: sjsuspartans.com

On the San Jose State men’s basketball podcast with Ana Kieu:

1. San Jose State returned home to host Wyoming Saturday afternoon. What can you say about that game?

2. Spartans’ Jalen James sliced through the Cowboys’ full court press and made a twisting layup with 0.5 seconds left in regulation. What went wrong in overtime?

3. The Ryan Welage show aired at the Event Center. Welage scored a career-high 37 points. Tell me more about the Spartans’ flaws that cost them the game.

4. Turnovers continue to be a huge problem for San Jose State. Just how important are the possessions?

5. San Jose State takes on UNLV tonight at 8 pm on AT&T SportsNet and KLIV 1590 AM. Give us your three keys to the game.

6. What’s your score prediction for tonight’s game?

Ana Kieu does the San Jose State men’s basketball podcast each week on sportsradioservice.com

 

Cal Bears Men’s Basketball Podcast with Morris Phillips: Opposition cutting through Cal’s defense like butter; Bears open two game homestand Thursday against Ducks

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photo credit: @cal_bb_fanly

On the Cal Bears Podcast with Morris:

1 Like butter the Cal defense failed again to stop another team’s offensive and paid dearly dropping the their eight eighth straight loss to USC to 77-59 at Galen Center in Los Angeles

2 Cal head coach Wyking Jones said after the game that the Bears can’t continue beating themselves with 20 turnovers Sunday

3 Cal drops it’s win loss record to (7-15) the fourth worst record for a Cal team 22 games into the season

4 In your column your mention Cal is facing inbalance, unrelenting lessons facing the highest level in NCAA Basketball

5 The Bears are back at it again at Haas Pavilion facing the Oregon Ducks on Thursday night

The Cal Bears Podcasts with Morris Philips can be heard each Monday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

Pac-12 Hoops: Bruins Roll Past the Cardinal 89-73

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Photo credit: gostanford.com

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Saturday, January 27, 2018

The UCLA Bruins, behind the one-two offensive punch of Aaron Holiday and Kris Wilkes, cruised to an 89-73 Pac-12 men’s basketball victory over the Stanford Cardinal at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles, California.

Holiday led the Bruins (15-7 overall, 6-4 Pac-12) with 21 points and Wilkes added 18. Thomas Welsh, who suffered a knee injury in UCLA’s win over California on Thursday, was back in the starting lineup and produced 12 points and 10 rebounds. Bruins point guard Jaylen Hands added nine points and 10 assists.

Daejon Davis paced the Cardinal (11-11, 5-4) with 23 points, 10 assists and four rebounds. Dorian Pickens scored 16 points, Michael Humphrey had 12 points, and Reid Travis led Stanford with seven rebounds while scoring 11 points.

Davis has scored a combined 45 points against UCLA this season. He posted 22 points in the Cardinal’s first meeting with the Bruins.

After winning five of its first six conference games, Stanford lost its third straight Pac-12 contest.

The Bruins took a 38-27 lead in the first half, sparked by a 14-0 run that included seven points from Holiday. After the halftime break, UCLA built a 22-point lead with 11:40 remaining, doing most of the damage in transition.

UCLA outshot the Cardinal 53 percent to 46 percent, and made 53 percent of its 3-point attempts. The Bruins also sank 92 percent of its free throws, and held a 33-28 rebounding edge.

The loss squares the regular season series between the two schools. Earlier, on Jan. 4, the Bruins lost to Stanford in double-overtime. UCLA has won its last 12 home games against the Cardinal.

Up Next: Stanford returns home this week for home games against the Oregon schools, hosting Oregon State on Thursday at Maples Pavilion. Tip-off is at 8 p.m.

Welage helps the Spartans, but San Jose State drops 90-86 decision to Wyoming in overtime

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Photo credit: @SJSUMBB

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The San Jose Spartans have lost eight straight games. Their last win (75-63) came on December 21, 2017, in a crosstown matchup against the Santa Clara Broncos. Meanwhile, the Wyoming Cowboys were doing just fine and entered the building with a two-game winning streak. The Cowboys upset Nevada 104-103 on January 24 and Utah State 85-77 on January 20.

Win streak or not, the Spartans were focused on the task at hand. San Jose State isn’t playing for the postseason, as they’ve only won three games so far this season, but they just wanted a win against Wyoming at the Event Center.

The Spartans’ starting lineup consisted of Keith Fisher, Noah Baumann, Jalen James, Ryan Welage and Ashtin Chastain.

The Cowboys got off to a fast start as Justin James hit a jumper and a 3-pointer and Cody Kelly made a layup, but the Spartans got back in the game. Chastain hit a jumper and made a layup and then Welage added a jumper and a three to give SJSU a 9-7 lead at the 17:11 mark of the first half.

Spartans’ Jaycee Hillsman threw down a dunk to make it a one-point game at the 12:01 mark, but the Cowboys quickly responded as Alexander Aka Gorski hit a three just 17 seconds later.

The Cowboys went on a 12-0 run in a span of 2:34 to overwhelm the Spartans, who ended Wyoming’s run after a bit, thanks to pair of free throws from Welage with 8:29 left in the first half.

Things got chippy when Cowboys’ Alan Herndon fell to the floor and appeared to be in a lot of pain. Herndon managed to pick himself up off the floor. The officials handed a foul to Spartans’ Jaycee Hillsman. After that, Austin Mueller entered the game in relief of Herndon.

Both teams exchanged shots late in the first half, but the score was in favor of the Cowboys, who carried a 47-33 lead to the locker room at halftime.

Here are the Spartans’ first half stats: 13-28 FG-FGA (total), 2-6 FG-FGA (3-ptr), 5-6 FT-FTA, 1 offensive rebound, 19 defensive rebounds, 20 total rebounds, 9 PF, 33 TP, 11 A, 13 TO, 1 Stl, 100 Min.

The Spartans got the ball to start the second half. However, the Cowboys struck first on James’ layup just 27 seconds in. And, as you may have expected, the Ryan Welage show came on as the junior forward shot two pairs of free throws and a jumper in a single-handed response to Wyoming.

James, Hillsman and Isaiah Nichols joined the Spartans’ scoring party. Welage then hit a jumper to pull SJSU within six (65-59) with 9:10 left in the second half.

The SJSU cheerleading team continued chanting their “defense” chants, which appeared to help the Spartans get back on track. Aside from the usual Welage show, Keith Fisher got into the limelight with a layup and a jumper to bring SJSU within one (73-72) with 3:17 left.

Welage collected a pass from Fisher and launched a three from the top of the arc to tie the game at 75 apiece with 1:44 left. It was do-or-die for the Spartans, who seemingly maximized their defense in the end.

The Cowboys regained the lead (77-75) on James’ dunk with 5.4 seconds left. Both teams took a timeout. Following Wyoming’s timeout, James made a layup to tie the game at 77 apiece and force overtime.

Hillsman hit a jumper to put the Spartans up 79-77 to start the overtime period. However, the Cowboys immediately responded with a game-tying shot–Louis Adams’ layup–less than a minute later.

The back-and-forth action between the two teams ensued as Welage made a lone free throw, James hit a three, Chastain made a layup, Adams made a pair of free throws and Fisher followed with a pair of free throws.

James made a layup to put the Cowboys back on top (86-84), but the game was far from over. James added a jumper to extend the Cowboys’ lead to 88-84 and then his team took a 30-second timeout with 11.4 seconds left.

Nichols got a foul, which hurt the Spartans as James made a pair of free throws following the malicious incident. Welage hit a jumper with just one second left on the clock, but it was too late. The Spartans dropped a 90-86 decision to the Cowboys in overtime.

Here are the Spartans’ final stats: 30-62 FG-FGA (total), 4-15 FG-FGA (3-ptr), 22-28 FT-FTA, 8 offensive rebounds, 35 defensive rebounds, 43 total rebounds, 24 PF, 86 TP, 20 A, 21 TO, 2 Stls, 225 Min.

Notes
The Spartans’ coaching staff wore sneakers with their suits for today’s Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers Week game, a nationwide event to raise awareness and help save lives from cancer.

The first 400 students got free pizza at halftime.

Up Next
The Spartans head to Las Vegas to take on UNLV Wednesday night at 8 pm PT.

San Jose State returns home to host Wyoming

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Photo credit: sjsuspartans.com

By: Ana Kieu

Spartans host Cowboys Saturday afternoon
The San Jose State Spartans will return home Saturday to host the Wyoming Cowboys for a 2:00 pm PT tipoff inside the Event Center. Tickets for the game are available at the Spartans’ ticket office and will be available for purchase at the ticket window outside the Event Center. The game will be broadcasted live on the Mountain West Network and can be heard on KLIV 1590 AM with Justin Allegri’s play-by play call.

Game #20: By the Numbers
San Jose State (3-16, 0-8 MW) vs. Wyoming (13-7, 4-3 MW)
Saturday, January 27, 2018, 2:00 pm PT
The Event Center (5,000) in San Jose, Calif.
Tickets: Spartan Ticket Office – (408) 924-7589
Television: Mountain West Network
Radio: KLIV 1590 AM

History Between SJSU and Wyoming
Wyoming controls the all-time series 10-2 after beating San Jose State twice last season. The Spartans’ last win in the series came on Jan. 13, 2016, at the Event Center. SJSU’s win was the first on its home floor against a MW opponent since joining the league in the 2013-14 season. Since then, the Cowboys have won three straight, including last year’s regular season finale in Laramie, Wyo., in a 74-62 win.

Wyoming Comes in off of a Big Win
The same night SJSU lost to Boise State, Wyoming knocked off the MW-leading Nevada in double-overtime in a close 104-103 win. Fifth-place Wyoming with a 4-3 league record has defeated Nevada, Boise State and San Diego State in the first half of league play.

Spartans Were Unable to Defeat the Broncos
Earlier this week, SJSU lost to Boise State by 23 points (94-71) on the road. despite dispelling the tale of the supposed tape heading into the MW matchup. The Broncos brought in a stellar defense, which ranked second in the MW for holding teams to 40.1% shooting, but the Spartans hit 53.8% of its shots against them. Boise State’s 3-point field goal percentage defense ranked seventh in Division I basketball at 29.4%. But SJSU sank 8-of-14 (57.1%) shots from downtown that night. SJSU’s 3-point shooting wasn’t the main story because Boise State rained in 18 threes for a single-game record for a SJSU opponent. The Spartans got 22 points from Ryan Welage and a new career-high 16 points from Keith Fisher III, but it wasn’t enough to overcome Boise State’s sizzling shooting.

League’s Most Accurate Three-Point Shooter Is Spartans’ Noah Baumann
SJSU’s Noah Baumann is shooting 62.1% (18-29) from beyond the arc during league play, which ranks first among all MW players. The Desert Vista High School graduate from Phoenix has been lethal from downtown with an overall percentage of 52.5% (31-59).

Some defenses in league play have pressed on Baumann, such as New Mexico and San Diego State, which allowed him to take only six combined shots. However, he’s had a breakthrough in games of three-plus hits from deep against Utah State, Colorado State and Air Force.

Spartans’ Ryan Welage Has His Ninth 20-Point Game
Ryan Welage led the Spartans in scoring for the 14th time with 22 points at Boise State on Wednesday night. It was his ninth 20-point game of the season. He buried a couple of threes early on to get himself going and moved into a tie for third all-time at SJSU with 134 made threes. His next three will give him sole possession of third place, leaping ahead of Rashad Muhammad, and trailing only Adrian Oliver (138) and Tim Pierce (153).

Field Goal Percentage Defense Remains Solid
SJSU’s 43.0 field goal percentage defense is the best in a very long time. The Spartans took the MW’s fifth-ranked 42.4 field goal percentage defense into the week before Boise State knocked down 53.1% of its shots on Wednesday.

If the season ended at the beginning of the week, that 42.4% would be the best for any Spartan squad since the 2000-01 season. Last season, SJSU opponents hit 46% of their shots against the Spartans. The Spartans face Wyoming Saturday, where they’re holding MW opponents to 41% shooting.

SJSU Outshoots Another League Foe
SJSU barely edged Boise State in shooting on Wednesday after hitting 53.8% (28-52) from the floor. It was the fifth time in eight MW games that the Spartans finished with a better shooting percentage than the opponent. The Spartans have made more baskets than their opponents in three league games. Though, they’re still in search of their first league win. In the games where SJSU outshoots its opponent, it’s generally turnovers and 3-point shooting that shift the score in the opponents’ favor. The Spartans’ 17.6 turnovers per game are the most in Division I basketball.

In Case You Missed It
With a pair of free throws with 4:12 remaining in the second half of the game at San Diego State on January 9, 2017, Ryan Welage scored career points #999 and #1,000. He became the 15th player in program history (108 seasons) and the first since Justin Graham in 2011 to reach this particular milestone. He reached 1,000 points in his 77th game as a Spartan, and with 11 games remaining this season, he could continue to climb on SJSU’s all-time scoring list.

  1. 1,767 – Ricky Berry (84 games)
  2. 1,750 – Adrian Oliver (80 games)
  3. 1,504 – Stu Inman (123 games)
  4. 1,432 – Wally Rank (102 games)
  5. 1,272 – Justin Graham (119 games)
  6. 1,236 – Chris McNealy (81 games)
  7. 1,173 – Coby Dietrick (72 games)
  8. 1,139 – Terry Cannon (97 games)
  9. 1,136 – Johnnie Skinner (73 games)
  10. 1,125 – Ken Mickey (82 games)
  11. 1,095 – Sid Williams (111 games)
  12. 1,050 – S.T. Saffold (72 games)
  13. 1,050 – Olivier Saint-Jean (51 games)
  14. 1,049 – Carroll Williams (75 games)
  15. 1,048 – Ryan Welage (80 games) 

Stanford Cardinal Men’s Basketball Podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: Cardinal lose another nip and tuck game 69-64 to Trojans

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Reid Travis led Stanford in scoring and rebounding. Photo by Al Sermeno/isiphotos.com.

On the Stanford Cardinal Men’s Basketball Podcast with Jerry:

1 USC just got by the Stanford Cardinal (11-10) 69-64. The Cardinal–although they’ve lost their last two games–have played really improved basketball

2 Jonah Matthews led the USC Trojans on Wednesday night with 18 points. Chiemenzie Metu scored 12 points and got 10 rebounds.

3 The win puts USC into a tie for first in the Pac-12 with the Arizona Wildcats. Both are at 6-1 in Pac-12 conference play.

4 Stanford had a chance to tie the game in the final four seconds when Daejon Davis missed a three-pointer.

5 The Cardinal face UCLA this Saturday in LA. Jerry takes a look at Stanford’s chances to close out this current road trip.

Jerry Feitelberg does Cardinal Podcasts each Thursday and Matt Harrington on Saturdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

USC holds off late charge from Cardinal in 69-64 victory; Cardinal drop their second straight game

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By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Wednesday, January 24, 2018

photo by usctrojans.com: USC Trojans Jonah Matthews leads the Trojans in scoring on Wednesday night at the Galen Center in Los Angeles over the visiting Stanford Cardinal

Southern California won its fifth men’s basketball game in a row Wednesday at Galen Center in Los Angeles, squeaking out a 69-64 Pac-12 victory over Stanford.

Jonah Mathews scored 18 points and Chimezie Metu added 12 points and 10 rebounds, as the Trojans (16-6 overall, 7-2 Pac-12) are off to their best start in league play since 2002.

The win also puts the Trojans into a tie for first place in the Pac-12 with idle Arizona (6-1), who they lead by percentage points going into Thursday’s games.

Stanford had a chance to tie the game in the final four seconds when Daejon Davis missed a 3-point attempt. USC, which has won 10 of its last 12, closed out the game with an Elijah Stewart dunk.

Michael Humphrey made a 3-pointer and Davis had made a pair of free throws late to pull the Cardinal to within 67-64.

The Cardinal (11-10, 5-3) were led by Reid Travis, who scored 16 points. Michael Humphery and Dorian Pickens scored 14 apiece for Stanford.

Stanford trailed 41-26 at halftime, but put together a 15-7 run to open the second half, cutting the Trojans’ lead to 48-41. USC led the entire game, and were up by 10 points with 5:12 to play.

Southern California held the Cardinal to 36 percent shooting in the first half, and forced Stanford into 16 turnovers – which is what the Trojans are averaging this season. The Cardinal shot 44 percent for the game.

Up Next: Stanford’s Los Angeles trip concludes on Saturday, when the Cardinal visit UCLA.

Cal Men’s Basketball Podcast with Morris Phillips and Michael Duca: Cal showed improvement despite loss on Saturday; prepares for Oregon and OSU

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Photo credit: @CalMBBall

On the Cal Bears Men’s Basketball Podcast with Morris and Michael:

BERKELEY–Somehow, a sixth consecutive loss for the Cal Bears wasn’t a complete downer. This time, their shots fell, runs were made, and the derisive cheers that had become commonplace throughout Haas Pavilion, ceased. The Bears fought through a 16-point first half deficit, getting within five points of No. 16 Arizona State with six minutes remaining, before falling 81-73.

“I was happy with the guys’ effort tonight on both ends,” coach Wyking Jones said. “I felt like we came out of the gates with a lot of energy defensively. Offensively I thought the guys did a better job sharing the ball, making the extra pass, moving without the ball and just had a much better flow.”

Michael and Morris do the Cal Bears basketball Podcasts each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com