The best of the West Coast Conference had an intense first half expected from two nationally ranked teams. Then one of the league’s best players went down with an injury.
No. 20 Gonzaga took advantage of a right wrist injury to Saint Mary’s Patrick Mills to rally for a 69-62 victory over the 22nd-ranked Gaels on Thursday night, ending the nation’s longest winning streak at 15 games.
Mills had 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting from 3-point range when he went down late in the first half, landing on his hand as he tried to break his fall. He didn’t return and the Gaels managed just 23 points on 33 percent shooting in the second half without him.
“A win is a win for us,” Gonzaga guard Jeremy Pargo said. “You’ve got to take what you can get. You never wish that anyone would get hurt. I’m hoping the best for him.”
In other games involving ranked teams on Thursday, it was: No. 9 Michigan State 71, Iowa 56; No. 12 Clemson 86, Virginia Tech 82; Washington State 65, No. 14 Arizona State 55; No. 17 UCLA 81, California 66; Minnesota 59, No. 19 Illinois 36; and Arizona 106, No. 23 Washington 97.
Diamon Simpson was 7-of-7 from the field and had 17 points and 12 rebounds for Saint Mary’s (18-2, 5-1), which outrebounded the Bulldogs (15-4, 6-0) 39-30 but committed 15 turnovers and went through a long scoring drought in the second half.
“I thought we kept competing,” Gaels coach Randy Bennett said. “We just have to put the ball in the basket. I thought in other areas of the game we played pretty well.”
Bennett said he did not yet know the extent of Mills’ injury. Mills, who is averaging 18 points and has scored in double figures in all 20 games this season, tried to take a couple of shots at halftime but couldn’t and he spent the second half with a bag of ice on his hand.
“His wrist is hurting,” Bennett said of the Australia native who played for its Olympic team in Beijing.
Matt Bouldin scored 17 points for the Zags, who won their seventh straight.
“We beat a very, very, very good basketball team tonight,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “They are not all about Patty.”
No. 9 Michigan St. 71, Iowa 56
At Iowa City, Iowa, Kalin Lucas tied his career high with 24 points and backcourtmate Durrell Summers added 21 to lead the Spartans (17-3, 7-1) to their fifth straight Big Ten road victory and 13th in their last 14 games overall.
nked teams, his only win coming against Michigan State last season.
No. 12 Clemson 86, Virginia Tech 82
At Blacksburg, Va., K.C. Rivers hit seven 3-pointers and scored 29 points and the Tigers (18-2, 4-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) rallied from a 15-point deficit in the second half. Clemson used an 18-0 run to get back in the game, then outscored the Hokies 8-2 over the final 2:08.
Malcolm Delaney had a career-high 37 points for Virginia Tech (14-6, 4-2).
Delaney was 11-of-16 from the field, including 6-of-9 on 3s, but Rivers finished 10-for-17 overall and was 7-for-10 from behind the arc.
Washington St. 65, No. 14 Arizona St. 55
At Tempe, Ariz., freshman Klay Thompson was 8-of-10 from 3-point range and scored a season-high 28 points, and Aron Baynes had 22 points and nine rebounds for the Cougars (12-8, 4-4 Pac-10), who beat a ranked team for the first time in five games this season.
James Harden scored 26 points to lead the Sun Devils (16-4, 5-3), who have lost five straight to Washington State.
No. 17 UCLA 81, California 66
At Los Angeles, Darren Collison scored 18 points and freshman Jrue Holiday added 13 for the Bruins (16-4, 6-2 Pac-10), who had lost two of three. They had 16 steals, their most in a conference game this season.
Theo Robertson scored 19 points to lead the visiting Golden Bears (16-5, 5-3).
Minnesota 59, No. 19 Illinois 36
At Minneapolis, Lawrence Westbrook had 15 points, including two 3-pointers down the stretch, and the Golden Gophers (18-3, 6-3 Big Ten) snapped a 20-game losing streak against the Fighting Illini by holding the visitors to their lowest point total in 24 years.
Dominique Keller had nine points for Illinois (17-4, 5-3), which missed eight straight 3-pointers to start the game and shot 7-for-28 overall in the first half when they scored 16 points and trailed by six.
Arizona 106, No. 23 Washington 97
At Tucson, Ariz., Nic Wise scored a career-high 29 points, including six free throws in the final 3 minutes, for the Wildcats (13-8, 3-5 Pac-10), who made 34 of 40 free throws in the second half and had only three field goals over the final 11:18.
Chase Budinger added 25 points for Arizona.
Jon Brockman had 27 points for the visiting Huskies (15-5, 6-2), who moved into the Top 25 earlier this week for the first time this season.
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