Top-25 College Basketball Game Capsules

Stockton, CA (SportsNetwork.com) – It may have looked like a blowout on paper, but No. 3 Gonzaga needed all of Kyle Wiltjer’s career-high 45 points to knock off Pacific. Wiltjer shot 14-for-21 from the floor, sank seven 3s and carried the Bulldogs to an 86-74 win over the Tigers on Thursday. Gary Bell Jr. netted 12 points while Kevin Pangos contributed eight assists on a night where he didn’t make a field goal for just the third time in his four- year career with the Bulldogs (27-1, 15-0 WCC). Domantas Sabonis and Byron Wesley added eight points apiece in Gonzaga’s 20th straight win. Gonzaga can clinch its third straight WCC regular-season title with a win over Saint Mary’s on Saturday. T.J. Wallace and David Taylor went for 19 and 18 points, respectively, to help the slumping Tigers (10-17, 2-13) keep pace with the conference leaders. Ray Bowles also scored 13 points in Pacific’s eighth straight setback.

Final Score: (7) Arizona 87, Southern California 57

Tucson, AZ (SportsNetwork.com) – Kaleb Tarczewski scored 13 of his team-high 15 points in the first half and No. 7 Arizona rolled to an 87-57 win over USC on Thursday. Stanley Johnson added 13 points, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson had 12 and Brandon Ashley and Parker Jackson-Cartwright each scored 11 for the Wildcats (23-3, 11-2 Pac-12), who have won three in a row since a loss to Arizona State on Feb. 7. Jackson-Cartwright returned after missing four games with a concussion and played 16 minutes. Malik Martin led USC (10-16, 2-12) with 15 points and Julian Jacobs had 13. The Trojans snapped a nine-game losing streak with a 68-55 win over Oregon State on Saturday but were never closer than nine points over the final 28 minutes against Arizona.

Final Score: (9) Utah 47, Oregon State 37

Corvallis, OR (SportsNetwork.com) – Delon Wright posted nine points, nine rebounds and five assists as No. 9 Utah beat Oregon State 47-37 on Thursday night, ending the Beavers’ best home start in school history. Dakarai Tucker led the Utes (21-4, 11-2 Pac-12) with 11 points off the bench. Malcolm Duvivier scored a game-high 12 points for Oregon State (16-10, 7-7), which was held to 33.3 percent shooting. The Beavers suffered their first loss in 15 games at Gill Coliseum this season.

Final Score: (16) Maryland 69, Nebraska 65

College Park, MD (SportsNetwork.com) – Melo Trimble scored 11 of his 26 points in the final 3:41 to lift the 16th-ranked Maryland Terrapins over the Nebraska Cornhuskers, 69-65, on Thursday. Trimble, who went 7-of-9 from the field, also had six rebounds and five assists for the Terrapins (22-5, 10-4 Big Ten), who have won three in a row. Jake Layman and Dez Wells tallied 14 points apiece. Walter Pitchford made five 3-pointers en route to 19 points for the Cornhuskers (13-13, 5-9), who have dropped four straight. Shavon Shields and Nick Fuller contributed 13 and 12 points, respectively, while leading scorer Terran Petteway shot just 2-for-14 from the floor but contributed a career- high nine assists.

Final Score: (21) SMU 67, Temple 58

Dallas, TX (SportsNetwork.com) – Nic Moore helped SMU overcome another huge second-half hole against Temple. The American Athletic Conference Player of the Year candidate Moore had 18 points and four assists as the 21st-ranked Mustangs defeated the Owls 67-58 on Thursday night. SMU rallied from a 10- point second half deficit in this one after storming back from a 13-point gap in a 60-55 victory in Philadelphia on Jan. 14. Cannen Cunningham netted 10 points for the first-place Mustangs (22-5, 13-2 AAC), who have won four straight and 20 of their last 22 games. Will Cummings was the lone double- digit scorer for Temple (19-8, 10-4), tallying 14 points to go with seven steals and seven assists. The Owls had a seven-game winning streak snapped.

Categorized in: NCAA Basketball