Southland basketball roundup: James Batemon leads LMU past San Francisco 74-69; UC Irvine clinches Big West

James Batemon had 19 points as Loyola Marymount narrowly beat San Francisco 74-69 on Saturday.

Eli Scott had 15 points for Loyola Marymount (20-10, 8-8 West Coast Conference).

Frankie Ferrari had 13 points and eight assists for the Dons (21-9, 9-7). Jimbo Lull added 13 points. Dzmitry Ryuny had 12 points.

The Lions and the Dons next take the floor in the West Coast Conference Tournament.

UC Irvine 68, at UC Riverside 47: Evan Leonard scored 14 points and Collin Welp added 13 more off the bench as UC Irvine cruised to its 11th straight win Saturday night, a 68-47 victory over UC Riverside that clinched the Big West Conference regular-season crown.

The Anteaters will be the No. 1 seed into the conference tournament.

UC Irvine built a nine-point lead by intermission and limited the Highlanders to just 20 second-half points.

Jonathan Galloway grabbed 11 rebounds and Elston Jones grabbed another 10 off the bench for the Anteaters (25-5, 13-1). UC Irvine shot 26 of 55 from the field (47.3 percent), including 4 of 19 from distance. Dragan Elkaz scored 12 points off the UC Riverside bench, with Callum McRae adding 11 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. The Highlanders were 18 of 45 from the field, including 6 of 17 from deep.

Pacific 73, at Pepperdine 72: Roberto Gallinat drained a 3-pointer to give Pacific the lead for good with just over a minute remaining as the Tigers held off Pepperdine for a 73-72 win on Saturday night.

Pacific (14-17, 4-12 West Coast Conference) made seven free throws down the stretch to secure the win.

Gallinat finished with 17 points and nine rebounds. Jahlil Tripp added 14 points while grabbing 10 rebounds and Jeremiah Bailey chipped in 15 points for the Tigers.

Pacific had a 32-28 lead at the break and led throughout until Colbey Ross drained a 3 for to give Pepperdine a 50-47 lead with 7:54 remaining. The Waves led going into the final minutes until Gillinat hit his last trey with 1:16 remaining.

Ross finished draining 6 of 9 from distance for a career-best 36 points for Pepperdine (13-17, 6-10). Pacific and Pepperdine will meet again on Thursday in the first round of the conference tourney.

at UC Davis 66, Cal St. Fullerton 59: TJ Shorts II registered 18 points and eight rebounds as UC Davis beat Cal State Fullerton 66-59 on Saturday night.

Siler Schneider had 14 points for UC Davis (11-17, 7-7 Big West Conference). Joe Mooney added 10 points. Garrison Goode had 6 points and five blocks for the home team.

Khalil Ahmad had 18 points for the Titans (14-15, 10-5). Kyle Allman Jr. added 17 points. Jackson Rowe had 11 rebounds.

The Aggies evened the season series against the Titans with the win. Cal State Fullerton defeated UC Davis 62-58 on Feb. 21. Both teams face Hawaii in their next game. UC Davis remains home for its matchup against the Rainbow Warriors on Thursday, while Cal State Fullerton heads home to host Hawaii on Saturday.

at Long Beach St. 94, Cal Poly 85: Deishuan Booker had 31 points and 10 rebounds to outscore Marcellus Garrick and carry Long Beach State to a 94-85 win over Cal Poly on Saturday night. Garrick led the Mustangs with a career-high 30 points.

Booker made all 13 of his free throws.

Bryan Alberts had 16 points for Long Beach State (13-18, 7-8 Big West Conference), which won its fourth straight game. Mason Riggins added 14 points.

After Long Beach State outscored Cal Poly 40-31 in the first half, both teams scored 54 in the second as the hosts clinched the victory. The Mustangs’ 54 second-half points were a season high for the team.

The Mustangs’ Garrick added six rebounds in the losing effort for the road team. Donovan Fields had 27 points for the Mustangs (6-21, 2-12). Mark Crowe added 13 points and eight rebounds.

The 49ers improve to 2-0 against the Mustangs on the season. Long Beach State defeated Cal Poly 76-68 on Feb. 9. Long Beach State finishes out the regular season against UC Riverside at home on Wednesday. Cal Poly plays UC Irvine at home on Thursday.

Utah Valley 64, at Cal Baptist 63: Baylee Steele recorded 14 points and 10 rebounds to lift Utah Valley to a 64-63 win over California Baptist on Saturday night.

Richard Harward made a pair of free throws to give the Wolverines the lead with 1:35 left and the Lancers missed three 3-point attempts from there.

Conner Toolson had 13 points and eight rebounds for Utah Valley (21-8, 10-4 Western Athletic Conference), which earned its fifth consecutive win. Isaiah White added 10 points.

Jake Toolson had only 7 points despite leading the Wolverines in scoring heading into the matchup with 17 points per game. He shot 20 percent from beyond the arc (1 of 5).

After heading to halftime with a 39-31 advantage, Utah Valley managed to hang on for the victory despite being outscored by 7 points in the second half. The Wolverines’ 25 second-half points marked a season low for the team.

Milan Acquaah had 21 points for the Lancers (15-13, 6-8). Jordan Heading added 19 points. Zach Pirog had 6 points and five blocks.

The Wolverines improve to 2-0 against the Lancers for the season. Utah Valley defeated California Baptist 79-62 on Jan. 30. Utah Valley faces Grand Canyon at home on Thursday. California Baptist matches up against Texas Rio Grande Valley on the road on Thursday.

WOMEN SUNDAY

Colorado at No. 25 UCLA Noon

Utah at USC Noon