Los Angeles Times - 05.03.2020

LAS VEGAS —Mark
Trakh is almost embar-
rassed by his answer when
the USC coach is asked
whether he’s looking ahead
to a potential rematch
against No. 8 UCLA in the
Pac-12 women’s basketball
tournament.
No, Trakh responds be-
fore a smile begins to stretch
across his face. He knows
when it comes to March,
things can get “Fast and Fu-
rious.”
“We coach the five min-
utes in front of our nose,”
Trakh said with a laugh,
paraphrasing Vin Diesel’s
character Dominic Toretto
from the popular movie fran-
chise.
After months of Pac-12
play that was equal parts
competitive and unpre-
dictable, teams reset with

postseason desperation. Seventh-seeded USC (16-13 overall, 8-10 Pac-12) begins its tournament play Thursday against No. 10 seed Colorado (16-13, 5-13) at 6 p.m. at the Mandalay Bay Events Cen- ter. Second-seeded UCLA faces the winner Friday in a quarterfinal. USC has not been past the quarterfinals in the tournament since its improbable championship run in 2014 as the No. 5 seed. After making the tournament final in 2016, the Bruins lost in the semifinals in consecutive years against Oregon. In the midst of the most successful stretch in program history — five 20-win seasons, four straight Sweet 16s, one Elite Eight — UCLA hasn’t won a conference championship since 2006, when the Bruins won the Pac-10 tournament. “I think it’s our next step,” UCLA coach Cori Close said. “We’ve developed a very good foundation of ex- cellence. We haven’t won a Pac-12 tournament championship yet, we haven’t been

to a Final Four yet. So obvi- ously my job as a leader is to figure out OK, what is the process that we need to fall in love with to be prepared for those kinds of moments

and those kinds of opportu- nities.” UCLA (25-4, 14-4) had its best Pac-12 finish in Close’s nine-year tenure and the program’s best conference

result since 2010-11. The Bru- ins started the year with 16 straight wins, a school record, and secured their first Bay Area road sweep since 1999. An upset over No. 7 Stan- ford in Maples Pavilion sig- naled to junior Michaela Onyenwere that her team might be good enough for a truly special season. But even then, the All-Pac-12 first-team pick knew the Bruins weren’t performing to the best of their abilities. With the postseason here, UCLA hopes to finally reach its high ceiling. “Post- season brings that stuff out of people that wasn’t there before,” Onyenwere said. The Trojans, winners of three in a row, see them- selves as a potential spoiler in the tournament that includes six teams ranked in the top 25. They already nabbed upset wins over UCLA and No. 14 Oregon State this season. But USC is limping to Las Vegas after playing only seven players during its last four games. Graduate trans- fer guard Aliyah Jeune is

day-to-day with a knee in- jury that’s kept her out for five games. She practiced Tuesday wearing a bulky brace. With its short bench, USC finished the season with five freshmen, one sophomore and one senior available. The young group pulled out single-digit victo- ries over Washington State on the road and Utah at home. The Trojans are accus- tomed to winning close games, having gone 6-2 in games decided by four points or fewer, despite rely- ing on inexperienced freshmen. The rookies — including Pac-12 freshman of the year Alissa Pili — just have a “knack for basketball,” De- siree Caldwell said. “I knew they were going to be amazing,” the sophomore point guard said. “But just seeing each and every one of them step up to the plate, step up when they’re needed is just something really special. All of them have just matured in a way that I don’t think any of us really expected.”

Trojans look to take on the role of spoiler

USC is seeded No. 7

in a tournament that

includes six teams

ranked in the top 25.

By Thuc Nhi Nguyen

LATIMES.COM/SPORTS THURSDAY, MARCH 5, 2020D3

Schedule for the West Coast Conference men’s and women’s basketball tournament at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas:

TODAY: FIRST ROUND Women’s game 1:No. 8 Santa Clara (11-18, 5-13) vs. No. 9 San Francisco (12-18, 5-13), noon, WCC Network Women’s game 2:No. 7 St. Mary’s (11-18, 6-12) vs. No. 10 Loyola Marymount (7-24, 3-15), 2 p.m., WCC Network Men’s game 1:No. 8 Loyola Marymount (10-20, 4-12) vs. No. 9 San Diego (9-22, 2-14), 6 p.m., WCC Network Men’s game 2:No. 7 Santa Clara (19-12, 6-10) vs. No. 10 Port- land (9-22, 1-15), 8 p.m., WCC Network

FRIDAY: SECOND ROUND Women’s game 3:No. 5 Pacific (16-13, 9-9) vs. Game 1 winner, noon, WCC Network Women’s game 4:No. 6 Pepperdine (14-14, 8-10) vs. Game 2 winner, 2 p.m., WCC Network Men’s game 3:No. 5 San Francisco (20-11, 9-7) vs. Game 1 winner, 6 p.m., WCC Network Men’s game 4:No. 6 Pepperdine (15-15, 8-8) vs. Game 2 winner, 8 p.m., WCC Network

SATURDAY: QUARTERFINALS Women’s game 5:No. 4 Portland (18-11, 11-7) vs. Game 3 winner, 1 p.m., WCC Network Women’s game 6:No. 3 Brigham Young (18-10, 13-5) vs. Game 4 winner, 3 p.m., WCC Network Men’s game 5:No. 4 Pacific (23-9, 11-5) vs. Game 3 winner, 7 p.m., ESPN2 Men’s game 6:No. 3 St. Mary’s (24-7, 11-5) vs. Game 4 winner, 9 p.m., ESPN2

MONDAY: SEMIFINALS Women’s game 7:No. 1 Gonzaga (28-2, 17-1) vs. Game 5 winner, noon, WCC Network Women’s game 8:No. 2 San Diego (19-10, 13-5) vs. Game 6 winner, 2 p.m., WCC Network Men’s game 7:No. 1 Gonzaga (29-2, 15-1) vs. Game 5 winner, 6 p.m., ESPN Men’s game 8:No. 2 Brigham Young (24-7, 13-3) vs. Game 6 winner, 8:30 p.m., ESPN2

TUESDAY: CHAMPIONSHIP Women:Semifinal winners, 1 p.m., ESPNU Men:Semifinal winners, 6 p.m., ESPN

WCC TOURNAMENTS

Schedule for the Pac-12 Conference women’s basketball tournament at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas (championship game on ESPN2; all other games on Pac-12 Networks):

TODAY: FIRST ROUND Game 1:No. 5 Arizona State (20-10, 10-8) vs. No. 12 California (11-18, 3-15), 11:30 a.m. Game 2:No. 8 Utah (13-16, 6-12) vs. No. 9 Washington (13-16, 5-13), 2 p.m. Game 3:No. 7 USC (16-13, 8-10) vs. No. 10 Colorado (16-13, 5-13), 6 p.m. Game 4:No. 6 Oregon State(22-8, 10-8) vs. No. 11 Washington State (11-19, 4-14), 8:30 p.m.

FRIDAY: QUARTERFINALS Game 5:No. 4 Arizona(23-6, 12-6) vs. Game 1 winner, 11:30 a.m. Game 6:No. 1 Oregon (28-2, 17-1) vs. Game 2 winner, 2 p.m. Game 7:No. 2 UCLA (25-4, 14-4) vs. Game 3 winner, 6 p.m. Game 8:No. 3 Stanford (25-5, 14-4) vs. Game 4 winner, 8:30 p.m. SATURDAY: SEMIFINALS Game 9:Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 6 p.m. Game 10:Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 8:30 p.m.

SUNDAY: CHAMPIONSHIP Game 11:Semifinal winners, 5 p.m.

PAC-12 WOMEN TOURNAMENT

MEN Cal State Northridge 72, at UC Irvine 70:Elijah Harkless had 30 points and seven rebounds as Northridge (14-17, 9-6 Big West) earned its first win over UC Irvine since 2014 and its first at the Bren Events Center since 2011.

MEN TONIGHT Cal Baptist at New Mexico State ................................................... 6 Cal Poly at Long Beach State ......................................................... 7 Cal State Fullerton at UC Santa Barbara .................................. 7

SOUTHLAND

BASKETBALL

Saddiq Bey scored 20 points and No. 14 Villanova overcame some late free- throw shooting woes in a 79- 77 victory to prevent No. 8 Seton Hall from clinching the Big East regular-season title. Justin Moore and Jer- maine Samuels added 19 points apiece and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl had nine points and 11 rebounds as the Wildcats (23-7, 12-5) beat Seton Hall (21-8, 13-4) to open the possibility of a three-way tie for first place. Creighton and Villanova are one game back with one game to play.

at No. 1 Kansas 75, Texas Christian 66: Udoka Azubuike scored a career- high 31 points with 14 rebounds to lead Kansas (27-3, 16-1) to clinch at least a share of the Big 12 regular-season title.

No. 7 Florida State 73, at Notre Dame 71:Trent For- rest’s putback with 3.8 seconds left capped a charge from a 13-point deficit as Florida State (25-5, 15-4) moved closer to an Atlantic Coast Conference title.

at No. 11 Creighton 91, Georgetown 76:Mitch Bal- lock made a season-high six three-pointers and Creigh- ton (23-7, 12-5 Big East) hit a season-high 17 threes on 36 attempts.

Texas A&M 78, at No. 17 Auburn 75: Josh Nebo scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half and Texas A&M (15-14, 9-8 SEC) sur- vived a last-minute rally to upset Auburn (25-5, 12-5).

No. 22 Virginia 46, at Mi- ami 44: Clark made both ends of a one-and-one with eight seconds left to help Vir- ginia (22-7, 14-5 ACC) win its seventh in a row.

SETON HALL’SSandro Mamukelashvili shoots over Villanova’s Saddiq Bey. Bey scored 20 points.

John MinchilloAssociated Press

TOP 25 ROUNDUP

Seton Hall can’t clinch

Big East championship

associated press

MEN AP TOP 25 No. 1 Kansas 75, Texas Christian 66 No. 3 Dayton 84, Rhode Island 57 No. 7 Florida State 73, Notre Dame 71 No. 14 Villanova 79, No. 8 Seton Hall 77 No. 11 Creighton 91, Georgetown 76 Texas A&M 78, No. 17 Auburn 75 No. 22 Virginia 46, Miami 44 No. 24 Wisconsin 63, Northwestern 48 SOUTHLAND Cal State Northridge 72, UC Irvine 70 WEST Mountain West first round Air Force 77, Fresno State 70 New Mexico 79, San Jose State 66 Wyoming 80, Colorado State 74 EAST Providence 80, Xavier 74 St. Francis (Pa.) 87, Bryant 61 Canisius 85, Marist 69 Marshall 94, Florida Atlantic 82 Monmouth (N.J.) 69, Fairfield 45 Long Island U. 73, Fairleigh Dickinson 72 Fordham 63, George Washington 52 Rider 71, Manhattan 59 Sacred Heart 61, Mount St. Mary’s 59 Siena 77, Niagara 55 Quinnipiac 69, Iona 68 St. Bonaventure 89, St. Joseph’s 73 Robert Morris 59, St. Francis Brooklyn 58 Tulsa 61, Temple 51 Massachusets 75, La Salle 64 Villanova 79, Seton Hall 77 Dayton 84, Rhode Island 57 SOUTH Virginia Tech 70, Clemson 58 Florida 68, Georgia 54 Charlotte 56, North Texas 43 Central Florida 61, Southern Methodist 58 St. Louis 69, George Mason 57

Texas A&M 78, Auburn 75 Old Dominion 84, Texas San Antonio 59 Louisiana Tech 76, Florida International 73 Northwestern St. 95, New Orleans 73 Texas El Paso 60, Middle Tennessee 56 Southeast Louisiana 69, Central Arkansas 65 Nicholls 80, McNeese State 56 Rice 72, Southern Mississippi 57 Mississippi 75, Missouri 67 Georgia Tech 73, Pittsburgh 57 Virginia 46, Miami 44 MIDWEST Indiana 72, Minnesota 67 Butler 77, St. John’s 55 Creighton 91, Georgetown 76 Kansas 75, Texas Christian 66 Florida State 73, Notre Dame 71 Wisconsin 63, Northwestern 48 Ohio Valley Conference first round Tennessee State 74, Morehead State 67, OT Eastern Illinois 67, Jacksonville State 61 SOUTHWEST Arkansas 99, Louisiana State 90 Houston Baptist 88, Incarnate Word 76 Texas A&M Corpus Christi 71, Sam Houston State 60 Oklahoma State 69, Kansas State 63

WOMEN SOUTHLAND Long Beach State 52, Cal State Fullerton 49 UC Santa Barbara 57, Hawaii 56 WEST Portland State 68, Northern Arizona 63 Mountain West championship Boise State 80, Fresno State 76, OT ROCKIES Montana State 81, Southern Utah 65 Idaho State 77, Eastern Washington 49 Idaho 91, Weber State 57 Montana 70, Northern Colorado 55

COLLEGE RESULTS

Get ready for the TMZ game of the year in high school basketball, where the potential for celebrity sight- ings in the world of entertain- ment and sports might produce a social media melt- down. Yes, the much dreamed- about meeting between Studio City Harvard-West- lake and Chatsworth Sierra Canyon is Saturday night at 7 at Pepperdine. Besides the parking lot being filled with Teslas, Corvettes and Porsches, this will be old school vs. new school in terms of private school bragging rights. The matchup was set on Wednesday when Harvard- Westlake won its playoff

opener in the Southern California Open Division regional by defeating Corona Centennial 63-55. Poor Cen- tennial. The Huskies lost five games all season but three of them were to Harvard-West- lake. “Beating a great team three times is difficult,” Harvard-Westlake coach David Rebibo said. “They fight you for 32 minutes and in our case 96 minutes. They gave us all we could handle.” Cameron Thrower was the hero for the Wolverines (25-6). Rebibo called timeout with 46.1 seconds left and his team clinging to a two-point lead. He set up a play for Thrower, who buried a three- point shot. Brase Dottin led Har- vard-Westlake with 22 points. Mason Hooks added 19 points. Centennial received

16 points from Donovan Dent and 15 from Paris Dawson. The big problem for Cen- tennial was having to deal with the 6-foot-10 Hooks. “They’re a great team,” Hooks said. “We had a lull in the middle of the game and locked in down at the end.”

Now comes a test between Harvard-Westlake’s size and desire to get the ball inside vs. Sierra Canyon’s athleti- cism and desire to fast break. The two schools haven’t been eager to schedule a game but have been compet- ing for bragging rights in the San Fernando Valley. Har- vard-Westlake has a long list of A-list alumni that includes actors Mark Harmon, Jake Gyllenhaal and Mayor Eric Garcetti. Sierra Canyon is the new school seeking attention with Kendall Jenner and the children of Will Smith and Jamie Foxx having attended the school. Sierra Canyon has only recently become a sports powerhouse. Marvin Bagley III got the Trailblazers rolling, and he’s been followed by the sons of

LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. The other semifinal on Saturday will have Etiwanda playing at Santa Ana Mater Dei. Etiwanda defeated Temecula Rancho Christian 67-61. Jahmai Mashack scored 19 points for Eti- wanda. There were some huge Open Division girls’ playoff games on Wednesday. Los Angeles Windward overcame a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat Sierra Can- yon 65-59. Freshman Juju Watkins scored 22 points. Windward advances to Saturday’s semifinals and will play host to Long Beach Poly, which eliminated Southern Section Open Division champion Mater Dei 55-50. Etiwanda won its opener over Corona Centen- nial 65-59.

On March 9, 2019, a
Pepperdine basketball player
received four direct messages
on his Instagram account.
“Your throat will be sev-
ered with a dull knife.”
“Your entire family will be
beheaded and burned alive.”
“I will enter your home as
you sleep and kill you.”
“Watch your back, you’re a
dead man walking.”
The next day, authorities
contacted Instagram, launch-
ing a federal investigation
that uncovered more than 300
accounts had been similarly
targeted, primarily those be-
longing to college and profes-
sional athletes, by a prolific
bettor. The man, Benjamin
Patz — also known as “Parlay
Patz” — was charged last
week with transmitting
threats in interstate or foreign
commerce.
The complaint, filed Feb.
24 in the U.S. District Court in
Tampa, Fla., was announced
Wednesday by the U.S. attor-
ney’s office for the Middle Dis-
trict of Florida.
On Dec. 17, 2019, an Action
Network story posted by
Darren Rovell called
Patz, 23, “the latest fascina-
tion of the gambling world”
and said he had won more
than $1.1 million in less than
two months.
On the same day the arti-
cle was posted, according to
the complaint, federal investi-
gators obtained a search war-
rant for Patz’s email account.
Two months earlier, Patz had
sent this message to a USC
football player, according to
authorities: “Please, drop an-
other pass why don’t you.”
The complaint said he also
messaged another Instagram
user: “I have 30k on ... USC and
they’re stressing me the ...
out.”
On the day of Super Bowl
LIII, after betting $10,000 on
the Rams to win and watching
the New England Patriots
actually win, he allegedly
messaged two Patriots play-
ers, threatening to “rape and
murder” the families of the
players.
In 2019, after Sweden beat
the German team he had bet
in the Women’s World Cup, the
complaint said he messaged
one of the players on the
Swedish team, threatening
that “I’m going to rape and
dismember you” and “I will
sever your aorta while you
sleep.”
The complaint also alleges
Patz sent similarly threat-
ening messages to players on
10 Major League Baseball
teams, including this one to a
member of the Tampa Bay
Rays: “Unfortunately 0-5
against the Chicago White
Sox isn’t going to cut it. Be-
cause of your sins, I will have
to behead you and your
family.”
None of the athletes are
named in the complaint.

Prolific

sports

gambler

charged

Patz, 23, accused of

making threats against

professional and

college athletes.

By Bill Shaikin

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REGIONALS OPEN DIVISION BOYS Wednesday's results Harvard-Westlake 63, Corona Centennial 55 Etiwanda 67, Rancho Christian 59 Saturday’s semifinals Harvard-Westlake vs. Sierra Canyon at Pepperdine, 7 p.m. Etiwanda at Mater Dei, 6 p.m. GIRLS Wednesday’s results Etiwanda 65, Corona Centennial 59 Windward 65, Sierra Canyon 59 Long Beach Poly 55, Mater Dei 50 Saturday’s semifinals Etiwanda at La Jolla Country Day, 6 p.m. Long Beach Poly at Windward, 6 p.m.

HIGH SCHOOL RESULTS

HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL

Harvard-Westlake, Sierra Canyon meet Saturday

ERIC SONDHEIMER ON HIGH SCHOOLS

Los Angeles Times - 05.03.2020

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