Pac-12 basketball: Colorado gets back-to-back upset wins, beats No. 14 Arizona
McKinley Wright IV didn’t even realize it was his coach’s birthday Saturday. Still, he gave him the perfect gift — another big win.
Wright scored 16 points to lead five Colorado players in double figures, and the Buffaloes held off No. 14 Arizona 80-77 to end the Wildcats’ nine-game winning streak.
It’s the second straight game in which the Buffaloes have knocked off a ranked team. They defeated No. 4 Arizona State 90-81 in overtime Thursday. The Buffaloes are now 17-29 against ranked teams under coach Tad Boyle, who celebrated his 55th birthday in grand fashion.
“I’m glad we could do this for him today,” Wright said. “It’s a great birthday present for him.”
It’s the first time Colorado has beaten ranked teams in back-to-back games since 2011.
Colorado went up by 20 in the first half only to see the Wildcats pull within three. Dominique Collier came up big down the stretch with one big shot after another. Dallas Walton finished with a career-high 15 points on seven-for-seven shooting as the Buffaloes overcame 13 turnovers in the second half.
Wright all but sealed the win with a steal and a dunk with 1:01 remaining. Colorado made six straight free throws over the final 40 seconds as fans celebrated on the court for a second straight game after the final buzzer.
Washington 70, at Washington State 65: David Crisp scored in the lane with 1:46 remaining to give the Huskies the lead and send Washington over the Cougars.
Washington sneaked out of Beasley Coliseum with the victory after trailing for over 33 minutes.
Crisp gave the Huskies their first lead of the second half with a steal and a fast-break layup with 3:21 remaining. After Washington lost the lead again after buckets from Robert Franks and Jeff Pollard, Crisp gave the Huskies a 66-65 advantage with 1:46 remaining off another layup. Washington State’s Milan Acquaah missed two free throws and the Cougars three field-goal attempts after that.
Franks finished with 22 points and 12 rebounds for the Cougars (8-7, 0-3). Viont’e Daniels had 13 points, going 3 of 6 from 3-point range. Drick Bernstine added 10 points before fouling out with 4:27 remaining.
SOUTHLAND
MEN
Cal State Fullerton 101, at Cal Poly 97 (OT): Kyle Allman scored eight of his 30 points in overtime and Jackson Rowe had 24 points for the Titans (9-5, 2-0 Big West Conference). The Mustangs (6-10, 1-1) made five three-pointers during a 21-10 run to pull to 83-80 with 35 seconds left in regulation. The Titans’ Khalil Ahmad missed the front end of a one and one, and Donovan Fields made two free throws to tie the score 85-85 with three seconds remaining and force overtime.
No. 19 Gonzaga 85, at Loyola Marymount 66: Johnathan Williams scored 30 points and the Bulldogs (14-3, 4-0 WCC) opened the second half with a 17-0 run. Williams connected on 13 of 18 shots and had 10 rebounds. Steve Haney led the Lions (5-10, 0-4) with 22 points, but scored only four points in the second half. James Bateman scored 13 points for the Lions. Gonzaga led by as many as 24 points in the second half. The Bulldogs dominated play in the paint, outscoring Loyola Marymount 48-26. Gonzaga built what appeared to be a comfortable 34-20 lead midway into the first half but the Lions chipped away at the lead and finished the half with a 7-0 flurry to trail 46-41.
San Francisco 80, Pepperdine 67: Jordan Ratinho tied his career best with 20 points to help the Dons (10-7, 2-2 West Coast Conference) send the Waves (3-13, 0-4) to their seventh consecutive defeat. Colbey Ross led Pepperdine with 23 points. Pepperdine closed to 58-54 with 8:33 left but Ratinho answered with a three-point basket in a 14-2 surge and the Dons cruised.
Hawaii 65, at Cal State Northridge 46
at UC Irvine 86, Long Beach State 73
WOMEN TODAY
Oregon State at USC 1 p.m.
Oregon at UCLA 5 p.m.
More to Read
Go beyond the scoreboard
Get the latest on L.A.'s teams in the daily Sports Report newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.