Cal State Fullerton is flattened by Arizona

The Arizona Wildcats don’t know when Lute Olson will return to coaching.

The growing uncertainty was no obstacle Wednesday night in an easy 91-65 victory over Cal State Fullerton at Tucson.

Two days after Olson created a stir with an unexpected appearance at practice, the Wildcats flattened the overmatched Titans.

“I just really liked it because, to me, nothing’s been really easy for us this year,” interim Coach Kevin O’Neill said. “I really admire how our guys have stayed focused on the game of basketball, even during everything that swirls around us all the time. I think they’ve done a wonderful job of getting better.”

Freshman Jerryd Bayless scored 21 points, leading the Wildcats (4-2) in scoring for the third time in six games. Sophomore Chase Budinger had 17 points in 19 minutes.

Arizona shot 62.1% from the field.

“Obviously, Arizona is starting to figure it out,” Fullerton Coach Bob Burton said. “I watched them play a lot and they are not the same team I saw earlier.”

Arizona wasted little time putting away Fullerton (3-1), bolting to a 20-4 lead as Budinger scored eight of the Wildcats’ first 10 points.

It was Arizona’s sixth game under O’Neill, who replaced Olson when the Hall of Famer took a personal leave of absence on Nov. 4. Josh Akognon scored 19 points and Marcus Crenshaw and Marcus Morgan each had 13 for Fullerton.

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Cal State Northridge 78, Cleveland State 68 -- Calvin Chitwood scored 22 points to lead the Matadors (4-0) past the Vikings (4-3) at Cleveland.

Northridge ended Cleveland State’s three-game winning streak.

With the Vikings leading, 44-42, midway through the second half, Dean Tresvant made a three-point basket to spark a 25-13 run that gave the Matadors a 67-57 lead with 4:02 left.

Tremaine Townsend scored 16 points and had 15 rebounds for Northridge. Cedric Jackson scored 24 points for Cleveland State.

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Pepperdine 93, Northern Arizona 87 -- Mychel Thompson scored six of his 22 points in overtime and the Waves (3-4) beat the Lumberjacks (3-3) at Flagstaff, Ariz.

Jason Walberg also scored 22 points for Pepperdine and Tyrone Shelley finished with 19 points and nine rebounds.

Kyle Landry led Northern Arizona with 17 points and 13 rebounds. Matt Johnson finished with 14 points and Nate Geiser had 13 for the Lumberjacks.

Pepperdine trailed by 13 points with 4:46 left in the first half and was down 52-44 at halftime.

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San Diego State 78, Loyola Marymount 56 -- Ryan Amoroso scored 19 points and Lorrenzo Wade had 18 to lead the Aztecs (6-1) past the Lions (2-5) at Gersten Pavilion.

D.J. Gay had 11 points and four assists for San Diego State, which improved to 5-1 on the road. Shawn Deadwiler led Loyola with 14 points and Brandon Walker had nine points.

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UC Riverside 85, Hope International 49 -- Larry Cunningham scored 21 points for the Highlanders (2-4), who pulled away in the second half to defeat the Royals (1-5) at Riverside.