Los Angeles Times 11/26/2020

(three) as assists (four) while failing to help his team find any sort of sustained offensive rhythm. The Aztecs extended their perimeter defense with the Bruins missing redshirt junior forward Jalen Hill, their top post player and re- bounder. The results weren’t pretty for UCLA, which made seven of 21 three- pointers (33.3%). UCLA was also missing the defensive tenaciousness that had sparked their 11-3 finish last season, recording just two blocks and one steal while playing in an empty arena that featured a few hundred cardboard cutouts of fans behind the baskets. There wasn’t much for new Bruins athletic director Martin Jarmond to cheer in his seat three rows behind the team bench. Sophomore guard Jaime Jaquez Jr. led the Bruins (0-1) with 17 points and redshirt junior forward Cody

SAN DIEGO — The over-
confidence that Mick Cronin
feared could be his team’s
undoing should no longer be
an issue.
Nationally ranked and
picked to win the Pac-12 Con-
ference, UCLA looked aver-
age at best in its season
opener.
The No. 22 Bruins were
missing two of their top play-
ers because of injuries and
suffered from several other
no-shows while getting flat-
tened in a 73-58 loss to San
Diego State on Wednesday
night at Viejas Arena.
Chris Smith, the UCLA
senior guard who returned
for one more college season
to boost his NBA stock,
might have wished scouts
from the Clippers, Golden
State Warriors, Dallas Mav-
ericks and Utah Jazz had not
bothered to show up. He
went scoreless after half-
time, finishing with 10 points
on three-for-seven shooting
in only 27 minutes before
fouling out.
San Diego State also
flummoxed UCLA sopho-
more point guard Tyger
Campbell, who finished with
as nearly as many turnovers

Riley added 14 points and 12 rebounds while filling in for Hill. It wasn’t nearly enough. UCLA was missing two of its top players with Hill held out because of tendinitis in his right knee and sophomore guard Johnny Juzang sidelined because of a stress reaction in his right foot. Neither participated in warmups and Juzang stood watching his teammates with his foot encased in a protective walking boot. Hill was listed as day to day and closer to a return

than Juzang, the Kentucky transfer who was considered week to week. A stress reaction is a precursor to a stress fracture and treatment usu- ally involves rest. Smith picked up his fourth foul with 11 minutes left, removed his mouth- piece and headed to the bench with his team down by

Cronin had no choice but
to reinsert his best player a
little more than two minutes
later with the Aztecs having
extended their advantage to

It made no difference.
Guard Jordan Schakel
and forward Matt Mitchell
scored 15 points apiece to
lead the Aztecs (1-0), who
carried over some of the mo-
mentum from their 30-win
season that was halted
abruptly in March by the co-
ronavirus.
UCLA couldn’t sustain a
hot start in which it made six
of its first eight shots to open
the game, the Bruins going
cold for a prolonged stretch
and repeatedly turning the
ball over thanks in part to a
flurry of offensive fouls.
San Diego State took its
first lead with a little more
than eight minutes left in the
first half as part of a 12-4 run
made possible by the Bruins
committing six turnovers in
nine minutes. The Aztecs
eventually built a 34-28 half-
time thanks in large part to
UCLA’s 10 turnovers to that
point, including three by
Jaquez.
Things were on the way to
getting much worse for the
Bruins.

UCLA GUARDTyger Campbell drives to the basket against tight defense from San Diego State guard Trey
Pulliam during Wednesday’s game. Campbell had as nearly as many turnovers (three) as assists (four).

Gregory BullAssociated Press

Bruins plagued by miscues,

cold shooting in the opener

Smith is held to 10

points for UCLA,

which was missing

two of its top players.

SAN DIEGO STATE 73

No. 22 UCLA 58

By Ben Bolch

Even a nonexistent crowd got loud for Evan Mobley. When the star freshman reached up with a lanky right arm to a catch a lob pass and slam it down five minutes into his USC debut, drawing an artificial cheer from the Galen Center audio system, it seemed like a sign that this season could main- tain a shred of normality amid a pandemic. No matter the circumstances, it looks like the Trojans can rely on Mobley. Mobley, the No. 1 recruit in the country, was the featured attraction during USC’s season opener, but his college debut was nearly soured by sharp-shooting Cal Baptist, which pushed the Trojans to overtime before Mobley helped secure a 95-87 overtime win Wednes- day. Fans barred from Galen Center during the COVID-19 pandemic likely won’t catch a glimpse of Mobley in per- son at USC as his college career is destined to be a short one. Even before he scored 21 points with nine rebounds and three blocks Wednes- day, he was already a predic- ted lottery pick for the 2021 NBA draft. In his debut, he showed off his vast skills, sinking a hook shot for his first USC points, following it with a three-pointer and dishing an assist to his older brother Isaiah, who turned it into a dunk. That was all in the first half. But he was held to just four points in the second half, as the Trojans (1-0) were forced to work overtime against a team that three years ago was in Divi- sion II. Unable to challenge Mob- ley in the paint, Cal Baptist (0-1) was 19 for 40 from three- point range Wednesday and shot at a 64.3% clip in the second half. The Lancers forced a USC timeout after back-to-back three-pointers put Cal Baptist up by five with 4:28 remaining. It was part of a 14-2 scoring run for the Lancers in which USC’s only points came off two free throws. Redshirt junior Ty Row- ell led the Lancers with 32 points including nine made three-pointers. He was the

LATIMES.COM/SPORTS SS THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2020B9

With All-Pac-12 per- former Alissa Pili sidelined because of an undisclosed injury, freshman Amaya Ol- iver led the USC women’s basketball team to an 85-55 win over Loyola Marymount in the season opener for both teams Wednesday at Galen Center. Oliver, a 6-foot-2 forward from Stockton, had 17 points and 16 rebounds. She made six of 10 shots and five of eight free throws with two steals and one block. “She plays so freaking hard all the time,” Trojans coach Mark Trakh said. “That’s her special skill. Playing hard is a skill and she plays really, really hard.” Redshirt freshman Madi- son Campbell had 19 points after missing last season because of an injury. Junior guard Desiree Caldwell had a career-high seven assists with 13 points and sophomore Endiya Rogers had 15 points, seven rebounds and

Guard Nicole Rodriguez (six points, nine rebounds) and center Khari Clark (12 points, eight rebounds) went the full 40. Meghan Mandel and Ciera Ellington led the Lions with 13 points each. The Trojans go from an outnumbered LMU team straight into Pac-12 play. Their next game is at Arizo- na State on Dec. 4. “Regard- less of what happened today, reality hits us in another two weeks,” Trakh said.

Bruins postponed UCLA’s opener against Cal State Fullerton at Pauley Pavilion was postponed because of delays in receiving COVID-19 test results for the Titans, accord- ing to UCLA. The game has been rescheduled for Friday. There was an 80-minute delay before the game was called Wednesday. Fullerton was awaiting results from tests conducted last Friday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

WOMEN’S ROUNDUP

Short-handed USC rolls past LMU

By Thuc Nhi Nguyen

UNCASVILLE, Conn. — Remy Martin scored 26 points and freshman Mar- cus Bagley made three key free throws in the final minute to lead No. 18 Arizona State to a 94-88 win over Rhode Island in the Empire Classic on Wednesday night. Bagley added 16 points while Taeshon Cherry, Josh Christopher and Holland Woods added 11 apiece in a game that featured 81 free throws, 55 fouls and two technicals. Chris Osten’s three-point play with 2:59 left gave the Sun Devils the lead for good at 89-86. Jeremy Sheppard and Georgetown transfer Antwan Walker led Rhode Island with 19 points apiece. Walker scored 14 straight points for the Rams early in the second half. His three- pointer with 12:33 left gave Rhode Island a 67-64 lead, helping the Rams erase what was once a 16-point deficit. Arizona State’s oppo- nent was supposed to be No. 2 Baylor until learning Bears coach Scott Drew con- tracted COVID-19 and began a mandatory quarantine.

Martin, Bagley lead

Sun Devils to victory

associated press

NO. 18 ARIZONA ST. 94

RHODE ISLAND 88 Men’s top 25

scores

8 No. 3 Villanova 76 Boston College 67 8 No. 4 Virginia 89 Towson 64 8 No. 5 Iowa 97 No. Carolina Central 67 8 No. 7 Wisconsin 77 Eastern Illinois 67 8 No. 8 Illinois 122 No. Carolina AT&T 60 8 No. 10 Kentucky 81 Morehead State 45 8 No. 13 Michigan State 83 Eastern Michigan 67 8 No. 14 Texas Tech 101 Northwestern State 58 8 No. 15 West Virginia 79 South Dakota State 71 8 No. 16 North Carolina 79 Charleston 60 8 No. 17 Houston 89 Lamar 45 8 No. 18 Arizona State 94 Rhode Island 88 8 No. 19 Texas 91 UT Rio Grande Vly. 55 8 San Diego State 73 No. 22 UCLA 58 8 No. 23 Ohio State 94 Illinois State 67 8 No. 24 Rutgers 86 Sacred Heart 63 8 No. 25 Michigan 96 Bowling Green 82

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

MEN

at Pacific 66, UC Riverside 60: Freshman guard Will Tatter- sall scored 17 points off the bench to lead the Highlanders in the loss to the Tigers. Arinze Chidom added 11 points. Pepperdine 86, UC Irvine 72:Kessler Edwards scored 20 points to lift the Waves in the San Diego State tournament. Colbey Ross added 13 points and seven rebounds.

at Cal State Northridge 97, Westmont 79:Lance Coleman II scored 22 points to spark the Matadors past the NAIA Warri- ors. Alex Mirkviladze added 20 points and 12 rebounds.

at Loyola Marymount 85, Southern Utah 83:Jalin Ander- son’s jumper at the buzzer lifted the Lions to the victory. An- derson had 12 points. Mattias Markusson added 19 points.

SOUTHLAND

Up next

Saturday vs. Montana, 6 p.m., Galen Center, Pac-12 Networks — Montana will be playing its opener Saturday while the Trojans finish a two-game homestand before traveling to Connecticut for the Legends Classic, where they will play against Brigham Young on Dec. 1 and Connecticut or Vanderbilt on Dec. 3.

Mobley makes

his mark in

Trojans’ debut

Freshman shows skills

that made him top

recruit as USC gets

win in overtime.

USC 95

CAL BAPTIST 87 (OT)

By Thuc Nhi Nguyen

USC 95, CAL BAPTIST 87, OT CAL BAPTIST Min FG-A FT-A OR-T A P T Gak..................296-11 1-2 1-8 1 5 13 Armstrong .........414-15 0-1 0-1 9 4 11 Nottage.............323-11 0-0 2-5 0 5 9 Rowell ..............4311-21 1-1 0-1 4 2 32 Thomas.............29 2-4 1-1 3-5 3 3 5 Carbone............29 5-7 0-0 1-3 1 1 15 Wade................11 1-2 0-0 0-2 0 3 2 Sawyer................8 0-0 0-0 1-2 0 2 0 Caruso................2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Totals 32-71 3-5 8-27 18 26 87 Shooting: Field goals, 45.1%; free throws, 60.0% Three-point goals: 20-41 (Rowell 9-15, Carbone 5-6, Nottage 3-9, Armstrong 3-11). Team Rebounds: 2. Team Turnovers: 2. Blocked Shots: 1 (Gak). Turnovers: 12 (Not- tage 5, Sawyer 2, Thomas 2, Armstrong, Gak, Rowell). Steals: 6 (Carbone 2, Gak, Nottage, Rowell, Wade). Technical Fouls: coach Rick Croy, 18:00 second. USC Min FG-A FT-A OR-T A P T I.Mobley............306-11 2-9 5-11 1 3 14 E.Mobley...........3910-15 0-2 4-7 3 3 21 E.Anderson ........34 4-7 2-2 0-6 4 3 11 Eaddy ...............34 5-9 6-6 0-1 4 2 18 Peterson ...........30 4-8 4-7 1-8 3 1 12 White ...............18 4-6 1-2 4-7 0 0 10 Baumann..........15 2-3 0-0 1-3 1 0 4 Agbonkpolo.......12 1-3 0-0 0-1 2 0 2 Goodwin...........12 1-4 1-2 1-1 1 1 3 Totals 37-66 16-30 16-45 19 13 95 Shooting: Field goals, 56.1%; free throws, 53.3% Three-point goals: 5-18 (Eaddy 2-5, E.Mobley 1-2, White 1-2, E.Anderson 1-3, Baumann 0-1, Peterson 0-1, Agbonkpolo 0-2, I.Mobley 0-2). Team Rebounds: 4. Team Turnovers: None. Blocked Shots: 4 (E.Mobley 3, I.Mobley). Turnovers: 17 (E.Mobley 5, E.Anderson 4, Eaddy 3, Goodwin 2, White 2, Peterson). Steals: 4 (Ag- bonkpolo, E.Anderson, E.Mobley, Eaddy). Technical Fouls: None. Cal Baptist....................................39 40 8—87 USC ............................................39 40 16—95 A—0

team’s leading returning scorer at 8.1 points per game last year after Cal Baptist lost all five starters from its 21-10 team that finished second in the Western Athletic Conference. USC guard Tahj Eaddy tied the score with a three- pointer with 47 seconds remaining to force overtime, and the Trojans had a chance to win on a corner three from Isaiah Mobley. But the sophomore’s shot was off target and Rowell’s half-court heave at the buzzer veered right of the basket. Eaddy, a graduate transfer, had 18 points and four assists. He has 1,008 points in his college career that includes stints at Southeast Missouri State and Santa Clara. In overtime, Evan Mobley asserted himself with six points in the period. He put an exclamation point on his night when he grabbed a re- bound off his own missed free throw and dunked it to put the Trojans up by six with 1:26 to go.

SAN DIEGO ST. 73, NO. 22 UCLA 58 UCLA Min FG-A FT-A OR-T A P T Riley.................31 3-7 8-13 3-12 1 3 14 Bernard............26 0-22-2 1-5 0 2 2 Campbell..........353-10 3-4 0-0 4 3 9 Smith ...............27 3-72-2 0-0 3 5 10 Jaquez..............366-10 2-3 2-6 0 3 17 Singleton..........26 2-60-0 0-1 1 1 6 Kyman..............11 0-20-0 0-1 1 0 0 Nwuba................6 0-0 0-0 0-1 0 1 0 Clark..................3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Totals 17-44 17-24 6-26 10 18 58 Shooting: Field goals, 38.6%; free throws, 70.8% Three-point goals: 7-21 (Jaquez 3-5, Smith 2-3, Sin- gleton 2-5, Kyman 0-1, Bernard 0-2, Campbell 0-5). Team Rebounds: 3. Team Turnovers: None. Blocked Shots: 2 (Nwuba, Riley). Turnovers: 14 (Jaquez 4, Camp- bell 3, Riley 3, Smith 2, Nwuba, Singleton). Steals: 1 (Kyman). Technical Fouls: None. SAN DIEGO ST. Min FG-A FT-A OR-T A P T Arop .................23 4-9 2-2 3-4 1 2 10 Mensah............19 2-5 0-0 1-7 1 4 4 Mitchell.............316-15 0-1 0-2 2 3 15 Pulliam .............28 3-6 1-2 2-4 6 2 8 Schakel............32 4-8 4-4 0-3 0 3 15 Gomez..............20 3-7 2-2 0-1 2 1 10 Seiko................17 0-1 0-0 0-3 1 1 0 Tomaic..............15 4-5 1-1 2-3 1 4 9 Johnson ............13 1-2 0-0 2-3 2 0 2 Butler.................2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 Totals 27-58 10-12 10-30 16 21 73 Shooting: Field goals, 46.6%; free throws, 83.3% Three-point goals: 9-23 (Schakel 3-5, Mitchell 3-7, Gomez 2-4, Pulliam 1-2, Mensah 0-1, Seiko 0-1, Tomaic 0-1, Arop 0-2). Team Rebounds: 5. Team Turnovers: 2. Blocked Shots: 2 (Johnson, Mensah). Turnovers: 8 (Gomez 3, Mitchell 3, Pulliam 2). Steals: 5 (Mitchell 2, Gomez, Mensah, Tomaic). Technical Fouls: None. UCLA................................................28 30—58 San Diego St. ....................................3439—73 A—0.

six assists. The balanced ef- fort helped USC’s seven- player rotation outlast an LMU team that had just six players. Along with Pili, who was last year’s Pac-12 freshman of the year, USC was without graduate transfer Jordan Sanders and guard Shalexxus Aaron. Trakh did not elaborate on the status of Sanders and Aaron, but said both were expected to return in the coming weeks.

Pili’s injury could hold her out “for a while,” Trakh said. Sophomore guard Alyson Miura and freshmen Zayla Tinner and Jordyn Jenkins were also not active for the Trojans. The Lions were so des- perate for depth that they suited up Morgan DeBord, a freshman on the school’s softball team. Six LMU players stepped on the court and every starter played at least 35 minutes.

Up next

Friday vs. Pepperdine, noon, Viejas Arena, Pac-12 Network —It will be a reunion of sorts with the Bruins facing former assistant Lorenzo Romar, the Pepperdine coach whose team defeated UC Irvine 86-72 in its opener. Forward Kessler Edwards led the Waves with 20 points and guards Colbey Ross and Jade Smith added 13 apiece.

Los Angeles Times 11/26/2020

SAN DIEGO STATE 73

WOMEN’S ROUNDUP

NO. 18 ARIZONA ST. 94

MEN

USC 95

CAL BAPTIST 87 (OT)

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