Gonzaga Retains Grip on Waves

Ronny Turiaf scored 22 points and No. 8 Gonzaga beat Pepperdine, 93-73, Thursday night at Spokane, Wash., for its 11th consecutive win.

Blake Stepp added 18 points for Gonzaga, 18-2 overall and in the 8-0 West Coast Conference, now 21-0 at home when ranked.

Pepperdine (9-14, 4-4) has been Gonzaga’s closest rival in the WCC in recent years, winning the league title in 2000 and sharing it with Gonzaga in 2002. But the Waves have lost nine of their last 10 against the Bulldogs.

Yakhouba Diawara, in his sixth game since resolving NCAA eligibility issues, led Pepperdine with 24 points.

In a game featuring the top two offenses in the WCC, Turiaf scored eight points as Gonzaga led, 22-7, after eight minutes. Pepperdine made a 12-2 run late in the first half to close to 41-30.

But Gonzaga led, 50-36, at halftime, thanks to 70% shooting (19 of 27). Turiaf made all four of his field goals and all eight of his free throws for 16 points in the first half.

The teams traded baskets in the second half, with Pepperdine unable to make up enough ground even as Gonzaga cooled off.

Cal State Northridge 64, Long Beach State 56 -- Ian Boylan made six free throws in the final 1:20 and finished with 20 points to lead the Matadors (8-10, 4-6 Big West) before 1,705 at the Pyramid.

“It’s what a veteran is supposed to do,” Northridge Coach Bobby Braswell said of his junior guard. “He’s done that for us in the last three basketball games. It’s good to see him step up and show some leadership.”

Boylan, averaging 22.3 points the last three games, had a layup to give Northridge a 56-50 lead with 4:27 left. Kevin Roberts countered with a layup for Long Beach (6-13, 4-6), but the forward missed four consecutive free throws to quash any hopes for a comeback.

Eto Onyenegecha had 18 points and eight rebounds and Thomas Shewmake added 12 points and seven rebounds as Northridge swept the season series and pulled into a four-way tie for fourth place in the Big West.

“It’s huge from a standings point of view plus [it’s about] getting ourselves on a roll,” Boylan said. “We have eight games left now. We need to carry this momentum.”

Long Beach was undone by turnovers and poor free-throw shooting. Despite forcing 20 turnovers, the 49ers committed 20 of their own and missed 14 of 25 free throws.

“You’re not going to win many games when you’re 11 of 25 from the free-throw line,” 49er Coach Larry Reynolds said. “We say it’s a young team, but it’s not young anymore. At some point, we have to take care of the basketball.”

Roberts led Long Beach with 17 points and eight rebounds.

Eric Stephens

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Pacific 64, UC Irvine 52 -- Guard Miah Davis scored a career-high 26 points, 19 of those in the second half, to lead the Tigers (14-7, 9-1 Big West) past the Anteaters (9-10, 4-6) at the Bren Center.

The victory kept Pacific one game behind front-running Utah State in the conference standings.

Reserve center Greg Ethington had 17 points for rvine.

Despite holding a 19-8 advantage in offensive rebounds, Irvine shot only 34.5% as a team from the field, its worst outing since a 34% effort in a 67-52 loss at Pacific on Jan. 10.

Pacific also shut down Irvine’s top two scorers. Seven-foot center Adam Parada, who averages 15.1 points, was benched for most of the second half and finished with a single point. Guard Mike Efevberha averages 13 points but scored only four.

Paul McLeod

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Portland 74, Loyola Marymount 59 -- Eugene Jeter had 15 points to lead a balanced attack as the Pilots (10-11, 4-4 WCC) held the Lions (11-10, 2-6) to one field goal in the final seven minutes.

Casey Frandsen, Adam Quick and Dustin Geddis had 14 points each for the Pilots, who made nine of 15 three-point attempts.

Loyola Marymount led, 51-50, but could muster only one more field goal with 22 seconds left. Wes Wardrop and Keith Kincade had 13 points apiece for the Lions.

Idaho 57, UC Santa Barbara 45 -- The Gauchos (12-7, 6-4 Big West) shot only 21.3% in losing at Moscow, Idaho.

Branduinn Fullove and Joe See scored nine points apiece for the Gauchos, who made 10 of 47 shots from the floor and went more than 12 minutes without a basket during the late-first and early second half.

Santa Barbara’s 11 first-half points matched a school record, set in 1981, for fewest points in a half.

Dwayne Williams had a season-high 23 points for Idaho (8-12, 4-6), which kept the Gauchos from getting any closer than 10 points after halftime.