DANVILLE, Ca--Three western teams took steps toward taking charge of their respective conference races Thursday night...California, Gonzaga, and Louisiana Tech.
Cal, behind the 39 points of Jerome Randle (7 treys) defeated Washington State in Pullman, 93-88. Supported nicely by Patrick Christopher (21), Theo Robertson (13), and Jamal Boykin (16), the Bears shot 51.6% overall and a blistering 55% from beyond the arc. The Bears played just enough defense to limit WSU's Klay Thompson, the Pac-10's leading scorer to 5 points under his average...the margin of victory.
The win keeps the Bears atop the Pac-10 conference with a 4-1 mark, the only one loss team in the conference. Saturday, they play the Washington Huskies. If they can come away with a triumph, the Bears will complete the weekend with a early hold on the conference regular season crown.
Gonzaga continues to be the best of the WCC. Earlier this week they narrowly defeated Portland 81-78 in Portland. Last night in Moraga, they eeked out a hard fought win over St. Mary's 89-82. Elias Harris scored 31 points mostly on sensational drives and everybodies NBA draft choice Matt Bouldin added 22. Omar Samhan lead SMC with 31 points and 12 rebounds, and freshman Matthew Dellavedova had 23 (4-4 threes), but it just wasn't enough.
Both Portland and St. Mary's found out that as talented as their teams are, Gonzaga has a little bit more talent.
Ruston, LA seems like a strange place to have a member of the WAC. Yet Louisiana Tech Bulldogs trumped the Fresno State Bulldogs at home last night (81-73) to go to 5-0 in conference and a gaudy 17-2 overall. Kyle Gibson lead all scorers with 32 points, Jamel Guyton added 17, and Magnum Rolle a 16/13 double to lead the "Tech-ers."
LA-Tech is a deep team, with a big inside presence.
Nevada and Utah State will have a steep hill to climb as LA-Tech is the only undefeated team in the conference.
I know, it's early yet, and anything can happen. And it usually does!
