Cook’s Basket Lifts UC Santa Barbara

Casey Cook made his first three-point basket of the season a memorable one.

The 6-foot-8 junior forward made the shot with half a second left to lift host UC Santa Barbara over Pepperdine, 65-62, in front of 3,127 on Wednesday night.

“It felt good when it left my hand, and it felt even better when it went through,” Cook said.

Cook’s shot capped a rally by the Gauchos (2-2) from a 62-58 deficit with 2:45 to play and sent the Waves (1-4) to their third consecutive defeat.

Cook finished with only seven points on four-for-eight shooting, but his game-winner followed form for the Gauchos, who made a season-high 11 of 25 three-point shots.

Joe See, a redshirt sophomore transfer from Oregon State, scored 11 of his 13 points in the first half and was three for six from three-point range, and sophomore guard Cecil Brown scored 13 second-half points and finished with 16, including nine on three-point shots.

Glen McGowan, with 14 points, was among four players in double figures for Pepperdine.

-- Lauren Peterson

Loyola Marymount 68, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo 67 -- Sherman Gay scored 24 points and blocked a potentially game-winning shot at Loyola to help the Lions start a season 5-0 for the first time since 1952-53.

Gay broke free for a dunk to give the Lions a 67-65 lead with 2:02 remaining.

Gay missed the front end of a one and one with the Lions leading, 68-67, in the final seconds but blocked Kameron Gray’s shot at the buzzer.

Keith Kincade scored 15 points for Loyola, and Chris Ayer had 13 points and eight rebounds.

Varnie Dennis had 28 points and 10 rebounds for San Luis Obispo (2-2).

California 65, UC Irvine 57 -- Stanislav Zuzak had 18 points for the Anteaters (2-3), but only five came in the second half at Berkeley.

Freshman Leon Powe had a career-high 27 points and 11 rebounds for the Golden Bears (2-2) in the first meeting between the schools in three years.

The 6-foot-8, 245-pound Powe had two dunks and two putbacks in the first half, scored seven consecutive points during one stretch and eight in a row in another run just before halftime.

Long Beach State 71, Cal State Stanislaus 62 -- Senior Kevin Roberts led the 49ers with 17 points and 11 rebounds at the Pyramid.

The 49ers (1-2) shot a season-high 52% from the field. Sophomore Jibril Hodges scored 16 points and junior Chris Jenkins had 15.

Stanislaus (2-1) held the 49ers scoreless for nearly five minutes during a 13-0 run to cut the deficit to 54-43 with 9:52 remaining.

Cal State Northridge 72, Montana 63 -- Joseph Frazier scored 11 of his 15 points in the second half to help the Matadors win at home.

Frazier, one of four Matadors in double figures, finished five for five from the field and five for six from the free-throw line.

Michael Scott was eight for eight from the free-throw line down the stretch for Northridge.

Montana (3-2) out-rebounded Northridge, 42-27, but shot only 20.7% (six for 29) from three-point range.