(Sunday) Whittier 86, UC Santa Cruz 72

On Sunday, Whittier defeated host UC Santa Cruz 86-72 despite two standout performances from northern California-connected talents for the Slugs:

* Freshman Will (Casa Grande High) Crain went for 24 points on 11-16 shooting and added four rebounds, two assists and a pair of blocked shots

* Sam (Vacaville High) Gabbard totaled 18 points powered by 7-12 shooting and added 14 boards for a double-double

Checking in on Monterey Peninsula College

Monterey Peninsula College is 9-6 overall and has done so minus any sort of inside power player. Instead, Coach Blake Spiering is playing small ball, utilizing the strengths of his Lobos: quickness and shooting ability.

So much so that Deondre (Sacred Heart Cathedral High) Otis at 6-foot-1 is the leading rebounder for MPC at 4.6 a game. Combine his also tops on the team 16.1 points and 5.8 assists each time out while shooting 54%, 33% and 61% and he's easily the most critical player on the squad.

Still not convinced? Try 76 assists to 23 turnovers for the sophomore, a 3.3 ratio that is excellent, especially so with him being called on to do so much.

Isaac (Independence High) Clark is at 15.2 points per game and shooting 48%, 35% and 65% respectively. He's adding 3.4 boards as well as 2.3 assists each outing.

 6-foot-5 teammate Jaskam "Jazz" Baskwa, out of Irvington (Fremont) High, is providing 13.1 points and 4.1 boards as well.

As a team, the Lobos are shooting an average of 49% -- a remarkable number considering the dearth of inside shots MPC takes each game.

Cole announces first player

Brandon Cole has announced the first member of his new spring/summer AAU team: "I'd like to welcome @jeryn_35 out of west campus high school, as the first player to confirm playing for my AAU team this year!"

That's Jerlyn Lucas, 6-foot-4 out of West Campus High (formerly Rio Linda High).

CCSF #1 in Nor Cal

Signal The Light Basketball has posted its weekly rankings of the top teams in northern California. CCSF is back on top with Fresno City College in the two spot now. Feather River College is at #3.

Pacific 73, Santa Clara 72

No, there weren't shouts of "Alec Kobre for mayor" Monday night at the Alex G. Spanos Center but it would have been appropriate as the Tiger senior nailed a literal last-second trey in overtime, his only three-pointer of the game, as Pacific turned back Santa Clara 73-72.

Here's the game winner.

What a satisfying finish it was considering all the turmoil and tumult in the Tiger program this season.

Teammates Raymond (Modesto Christian High) Bowles led the victors with 19 points and T.J. (Modesto Christian High) Wallace totaled 14.

11 more free throw attempts plus 10 less turnovers were large factors in the comeback victory.

Pacific game report.

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Oregon St. 82, Quinnipiac 61

Oregon State used a 45-27 second 20 minutes to put away Quinnipiac on Monday in Corvallis. Gary Payton II enjoyed 19 points, seven boards, four assists and three steals on the evening with teammate Langston Morris-Walker tallying eight, six, four and three respectively.

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Stanford 70, Sac St. 60

In Maples Pavilion on Monday, Stanford held fast against Sacramento State and won 70-60. 6-foot-11 Eric (Casa Roble High) Stuteville had his game of the season thus far with 19 points, five boards and a pair of blocked shots plus Cody (Pleasant Grove High) Demps passed out eight assists, but neither was enough.

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St. Mary's 74, USF 52

St. Mary's led 43-28 at the half and continued on to take down USF Monday in Moraga 74-52. The Dons shot just 28%.

The St. Mary's game report.

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Utah St. 92, TRGV 69

Senior guard Chris (Yuba College) Smith's 18 points led host Utah State in a 93-69 win against Texas-Rio Grande Valley on Monday. He shot 7-10, 3-5 and 1-1 respectively and added seven rebounds, six assists and a pair of blocked shots on the night.

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Norfolk St. 85, UTEP 76

UTEP is really struggling right now, losing last night to Norfolk State 85-76 in El Paso. Doing his best to turn the tide, Dom Artis compiled 18 points, five boards and four assists for the Miners. He shot 4-7 from three-point range.

It's five losses in a row for the UTEP and this was the closest one.

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Portland 87, LMU 60

Portland was at home on Tuesday and thus favored to take down Loyola Marymount in a West Coast Conference opener but the point differential was still surprising at 87-60.

Bryce (Jesuit High) Pressley mad a living outside the arc shooting 7-13 on his way to 25 points and he added five rebounds to his stat line.

The Portland game report.

The Pilots shot 31-61 overall, 42% on 33 long distance attempts and 85% from the foul line. LMU finished at 36%, 35% and 38% respectively.

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ND St. 67, ISU 62

In Logan, Utah as part of a Utah State-hosted tournament, North Dakota State bested Idaho State 67-62 last night as sophomore guard Ali (Arizona Western/San Lorenzo High) Faruq-Bey finished with 14 points in 22 minutes for ISU.

UC Irvine 66, Sam Houston St. 53

In El Paso last night, UC Irvine handled Sam Houston State 66-53 (apparently meaning Anteaters are tougher than Bearkats). Mike (Terra Linda High) Best shot 7-10 on the evening and finished second on the team with 14 points.

Coach Russell Turner's guys are now 9-4 this season.

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Akron 84, UC Santa Barbara 70

On Monday in Las Vegas, UC Santa Barbara's road/netural court woes continued with an 84-70 loss to Akron. Coach Bob Williams tried some changes in his starting five but the leading scorers remained Michael Bryson with 16 points plus Gabe Vincent and John Green supplying 13. Green's six boards tied for the team.

The Gauchos are now 2-7 on the season with the victories being over Nebraska-Omaha and San Francisco. In fairness, Williams' guys have enjoyed but two home games thus far, versus Pac-12 members Oregon State and USC.

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Gale now at Pomona-Pitzer

6-foot-4 Jack (University High) Gale is at Pomona-Pitzer down south this season after transferring from Vermont's Middlebury College.