Irvine Wins at Santa Barbara, 81-70

Senior point guard Jerry Green scored 20 of his 22 points in the second half Thursday and sparked UC Irvine, which connected on seven of eight three-point shot in a 10-minute stretch, to an 81-70 Big West Conference victory at UC Santa Barbara.

Green, Jordan Harris and Stanislav Zuzak each made two three-point shots in a 27-11 run that erased a one-point halftime deficit and put first-place Irvine (14-5, 6-1) ahead, 56-41, with 10:59 to play in the second half.

Green, who had a career-high 11 assists, made six of 10 shots in the second half and the Anteaters shot 64% (18 for 28) in the half.

Santa Barbara (11-6, 5-3) was led by Nick Jones with 23 points.

John Klima

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Pepperdine 74, Santa Clara 67--Boomer Brazzle sparked an 18-2 Wave run midway through the second half of the West Coast Conference game at Santa Clara.

First-place Pepperdine (12-6, 5-0) trailed 41-32 at halftime and was down 48-41 after Santa Clara’s Jordan Legge scored with 13:57 remaining.

But the Waves rallied behind Brazzle, who scored nine of their 18 points during the crucial stretch and completed the run with a follow shot at 8:15 that gave Pepperdine a 59-50 advantage.

Santa Clara (7-11, 2-3) scored seven consecutive points to draw to within 64-60. Santa Clara’s Brian Vaka made a three-point basket with 1:06 remaining to cut it to 69-67, but the Broncos got no closer.

Brazzle, who scored 19 points, made two free throws with 22 seconds left to account for the final margin.

Associated Press

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Cal State Northridge 92, Cal State Fullerton 68--Jermar Welch scored a career-high 18 points as the Matadors (7-10, 6-2) moved into second place in the Big West with the easy victory before 1,358 at Northridge.

Northridge has won five of its last six games and now sits one game behind league-leading Irvine.

Northridge put the Titans away with a 57-point second half after leading 35-27 at halftime.

Guard Markus Carr, who has had to focus on scoring this season, went back to a familiar role of setting up teammates and had a season-high 12 assists. Carr also had 15 points as five Matadors reached double figures.

Pape Sow had a game-high 28 points to lead Fullerton (4-13, 1-7).

Eric Stephens

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Cal Poly San Luis Obispo 75, Long Beach State 63--Varnie Dennis scored 20 points before fouling out as the Mustangs (10-6, 4-4 Big West) defeated the 49ers (6-13, 2-6) at San Luis Obispo.

San Diego 73, Loyola Marymount 60--Jason Blair scored a career-high 32 points and Sam Adamo sparked a key second-half run that lifted the Toreros (11-7, 3-2 West Coast) to a victory over the Lions (9-10, 2-3) at San Diego.

Pacific 71, UC Riverside 59--Maurice McLemore scored 17 points and had seven rebounds to lead the Tigers (12-6, 4-4 Big West) over the Highlanders (6-10, 3-5) at Stockton.

Women

Oregon State 77, UCLA 36--Felicia Ragland scored 19 points and the Beavers (11-9, 7-3 Pac-10) held the Bruins (5-13, 2-8) to an all-time low point total as they cruised to the victory at Corvallis, Ore.

UCLA’s 10 first-half points also were a school-record low.

Oregon 75, USC 65--Shaquala Williams scored 16 of her 18 points in the first half, and the Ducks (11-8, 6-4 Pac-10) held off a late run by the Trojans (10-9, 6-4) at Eugene, Ore.

Associated Press