Santa Clara Has Enough to Slip Past St. Mary’s, 78-76
Brody Angley made an off-balance 10-foot jump shot with 2.4 seconds left to lift host Santa Clara over St. Mary’s, 78-76, Friday night in a West Coast Conference matchup at the Leavey Center.
St. Mary’s Daniel Kickert missed a running 12-footer at the buzzer as the Gaels (20-7, 7-3 WCC) lost a chance to get back into a first-place tie with 14th-ranked Gonzaga in the WCC standings.
Kickert, who scored 30 points, booted the game ball into the bleachers in frustration.
The third-place Broncos (13-12, 6-4) were fueled by Doron Perkins’ 22 points and Kyle Bailey’s 14 points, nine of which came in the final 3:14.
After St. Mary’s E.J. Rowland tied the score, at 76-76, with 35 seconds left, Santa Clara got the ball back at midcourt with 14 seconds left and found Angley. There were six ties in the final 4:20.
After Travis Niesen made it 76-74 with 45 seconds left, Rowland made a short jump shot in the paint moments later.
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In women’s top 25 games:
No. 4 Stanford 91, California 50 -- Candice Wiggins’ 24 points led the Cardinal (22-2, 13-1 Pacific 10) over the Bears (9-14, 3-11) at Berkeley.
No. 8 North Carolina 93, Virginia Tech 67 -- The Hokies (14-8, 3-6 Atlantic Coast Conference) made seven turnovers in the first five minutes and 24 overall in their loss to the Tar Heels (20-3, 8-2) at Chapel Hill, N.C.
No. 15 DePaul 78, Houston 66 -- Khara Smith had 24 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Blue Demons (20-3, 9-1 Conference USA) to a school-record 21st consecutive home victory at Chicago. Sancho Lyttle led the Cougars (17-6, 7-3) with 26 points.
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In off-court news:
Rick Chryst, the Mid-American Conference commissioner, said he hoped to have courtside video monitors at all league games in the aftermath of a game-winning shot by Miami of Ohio that came after the final buzzer to beat Ball State.
Referee Tom Clark ruled that Nathan Peavy’s shot was good before time expired, although officials were unable to review the play at the scorer’s table because the game was not televised. On Friday, Chryst said that Peavy’s shot shouldn’t have counted, and the game should have gone to overtime. However, Miami’s win will stand. “It is only after reviewing multiple camera angles and slowing video down to a frame-by-frame analysis that one can definitively conclude the game-winning shot occurred after the clock had reached zero,” Chryst said.
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The Big Sky Conference suspended Cal State Sacramento Coach Jerome Jenkins for one game for comments he made about officials and for “failure to control” players and staff after Thursday’s 57-55 loss to Weber State. Jenkins will sit out today’s game at Idaho State.
Weber State’s Coric Riggs picked up a loose ball that had been slapped away from Cal State Sacramento’s Jason Harris. Riggs raced down the court and made a layup at the buzzer. After officials ruled the basket good, Jenkins charged toward them and had to be restrained by security, the Salt Lake Tribune reported. According to the newspaper, one Cal State Sacramento player challenged fans to fights and another made inappropriate gestures.
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Southeastern Conference Commissioner Mike Slive reprimanded Georgia Coach Dennis Felton for his criticism of South Carolina forward Carlos Powell. On his Sunday radio show, Felton had called Powell “the biggest faker and flopper” and said “he’s fraudulent.”
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Ohio State is investigating allegations that a booster provided free dental work to several members of the women’s basketball team, including two current players, Athletic Director Andy Geiger said. The school reported the situation to the NCAA, which approved continued eligibility for the two current players involved, Geiger said.
The two players received invoices from an orthodontist saying they owed nothing, and the players assumed their insurance had paid for the work, according to Geiger.