Irvine’s Hood Foils Utah State Again

Mike Hood made two free throws following a controversial foul call with 1.3 seconds remaining to help UC Irvine beat Utah State, 59-58, at Logan, Utah, on Thursday night.

Ronnie Ross made two foul shots to give Utah State (17-6, 8-4 in Big West) a 58-57 lead after getting fouled by Hood.

After the referees viewed television replays and put four seconds on the clock, Hood took a pass near midcourt and drew a blocking foul on Ross.

Hood made both shots to stun the 8,041 fans in Dee Glen Smith Spectrum and give Irvine (14-7, 8-4) its biggest victory this season.

Irvine moved into a tie for second place with Utah State.

“You have to play one of your better ballgames to win here,” Irvine Coach Pat Douglass said. “This is the most difficult place to play on the road in our league.”

It is the second time this season Hood has beaten Utah State in the closing seconds. Hood made a running jumper as time ran out in overtime to give Irvine a 75-73 victory Jan. 15.

The last four meetings between the teams have been decided by five points.

The Aggies have won 53 of their last 56 Big West home games but have lost two in a row to the Anteaters.

Center Adam Parada (15 points) made six of seven shots in helping Irvine take a 33-22 lead at halftime.

-- Eric Stephens

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo 62, Cal State Northridge 59 -- Jason Allen scored 23 points and made all six of his free throws in the last 1:54 to help the Mustangs hold off the cold-shooting Matadors at Northridge.

Forcing several turnovers with its press, Northridge rallied from a 56-47 deficit with 1:38 left to pull within 60-59 on Curtis Slaughter’s three-point basket with 10.2 seconds remaining.

Steve Geary was fouled and made two free throws with 8.8 seconds left, after Cal Poly had missed four consecutive free throws.

Slaughter’s three-point attempt hit the front of the rim and was rebounded by Cal Poly’s Phil Johnson as time expired.

The teams combined for 57 turnovers, 31 by Cal Poly (10-11, 6-6 in Big West).

Northridge (10-11, 4-7) made only 17 of 52 shots from the field (32.7%), including four of 20 from three-point range.

“We just didn’t convert,” Matador Coach Bobby Braswell said. “I have to give Cal Poly credit. They got into us defensively and pushed us around.”

-- Rob Fernas

UC Santa Barbara 62, Pacific 52 -- Freshman guard Cecil Brown scored 16 points as the Gauchos (12-10, 9-3) took over first place in the Big West with a victory at Stockton, Calif.

Nick Jones had 15 points and eight rebounds for the Gauchos, who won their third consecutive game and for the seventh time in eight games.

Miah Davis scored 13 points to lead Pacific (11-9, 6-5), which made 35% of its shots.

Santa Barbara assumed command with an 11-2 run midway through the second half that gave the Gauchos their biggest lead, 50-35. Brown had five of his 10 second-half points during that spurt.

Idaho 75, Long Beach State 67 -- Dwayne Williams had 30 points, including seven consecutive free throws down the stretch, for Idaho at Moscow, Idaho.

Idaho (10-11, 6-6 Big West) remains in fifth place in the conference. The 49ers (4-17, 3-9) are winless in 10 road games and are in last place.

Pepperdine 98, San Diego 93 -- Jimmy Miggins hit a three-pointer with 26.2 seconds left and reserve Mike Westphal scored 21 points for Pepperdine at San Diego.

Miggins hit the Waves’ season-high 16th three-pointer of the game after San Diego’s Matt Delzell tied the score, 93-93, on a three-point shot with 52.7 seconds remaining.

Pepperdine (13-10, 5-5 West Coast), which took 28 three-point shots, hit a season-best 57.1% from three-point range and shot 55.4% overall.

San Diego (12-10, 6-3) made a school-record 14 three-pointers in 28 attempts.

Jason Keep had 22 points and 13 rebounds to pace San Diego.

Loyola Marymount 73, Santa Clara 61 -- Brandon Worthy scored 19 points at Santa Clara and Loyola won its first road game this season.

The Lions (10-15, 4-6 West Coast) extended their winning streak to three games and swept the Broncos (11-11, 2-7) in conference play for the first time in 13 years.

Charles Brown and Keith Kincade each had 12 points for Loyola, and Jim Howell paced Santa Clara with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Associated Press