Olynyk, Harris Lead No. 10 Gonzaga Past BYU, 83-63
Kelly Olynyk scored 26 points and Elias Harris added 25 as No. 10 Gonzaga beat BYU 83-63 on Thursday, in a showdown for first place in the West Coast Conference.
Olynyk shot 9 for 9 from the field and 8 for 8 on free throws to go along with nine rebounds, and Harris had 10 boards for Gonzaga (18-2, 5-0), which was coming off a last-second loss at No. 9 Butler last weekend.
Josh Sharp and Brandon Davies led BYU (15-6, 5-2) with 14 points each.
Tyler Haws, the WCC scoring leader at 21 points per game coming in, was held to just one point for the Cougars. Haws had 42 points against Virginia Tech, the most by a Division I player this season.
His previous low this season was nine points against Iowa State, and he had scored at least 20 in seven consecutive games coming in.
 
Parker, Dickerson Help USF Escape With 75-72 Win
De'End Parker scored 16 points and Cole Dickerson added 15 on Thursday night, helping San Francisco escape with a 75-72 victory over Portland.
San Francisco (9-11, 2-5 West Coast) won despite collecting just 17 rebounds.
The Dons made up for that discrepancy in other areas, hitting 16 of 17 free-throw attempts and building a 35-16 scoring advantage off the bench.
Dickerson hit three 3-point field goals and had three steals. Cody Doolin had seven assists.
Portland (8-13, 1-5) had a 37-33 lead at the half. It outscored USF 32-24 in the paint and had an 11-7 edge in second-chance points.
Ryan Nicholas led Portland with 23 points and Kevin Bailey scored 15.
 
Stevenett, S. Utah Defeat Portland State 76-63
Jackson Stevenett scored 21 points, helping Southern Utah roll to a 76-63 wire-to-wire victory over Portland State on Thursday night.
Damon Heuir scored 19 points and dished out six assists for Southern Utah (6-12, 4-5 Big Sky). Jayson Cheesman scored 11 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.
Southern Utah had a 20-10 advantage in second-chance points and a 36-18 edge in points in the paint.
Aaron Moore led Portland State (5-11, 3-6) with 19 points and nine rebounds. Lateef McMullan scored 14 points and had six assists.
Stevenett hit 9 of his 13 shots from the field, helping Southern Utah post an overall percentage of 50.9.
Portland State made just 36 percent of its shots from the field (18 of 50).
 
Hale Nets 35, UTSA Holds Off Seattle 78-75
Michael Hale III scored a career-high 35 points including a 16 for 17 effort from the free-throw line and UTSA beat Seattle 78-75 on Thursday night.
Hale hit a pair of free throws to put UTSA (5-13, 1-7 WAC) up 76-69 with 34 seconds remaining in the game to seal the deal. Seattle's Jarell Flora made things interesting with back-to-back 3-pointers in the final 30 seconds, but it wasn't enough to overcome the Roadrunners.
Although UTSA never trailed in the contest, D'Vonne Pickett Jr. hit a lay-up for Seattle to tie it up at 65 but Kannon Burrage answered by hitting a pair of free throws with 5:26 to play and the Roadrunners never looked back.
Burrage ended his night with 19 points, three rebounds and three assists.
Deshau Sunderhaus scored 16 points and five rebounds to lead Seattle (6-12, 1-7).
 
Portland's Aldridge Named To 2nd All-Star Game
Portland Trail Blazers forward LaMarcus Aldridge figures he'll be fielding plenty of ticket requests for the All-Star game.
Aldridge, a Dallas native who still lives there in the offseason, has been selected as an All-Star reserve by the league's Western Conference coaches for the second straight year.
This season's All-Star Game, meanwhile, will be played at Houston's Toyota Center on Feb. 17. That's less than a four-hour drive from Dallas.
In a conference call with reporters on Thursday night, Aldridge joked that his biggest fear about making the team is the number of people who will reach out for tickets.
Aldridge is averaging 20.7 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.28 blocks in 40 games this season.
 
UO Player Josh Huff Acquitted Of DUI Charge
University of Oregon football player Josh Huff has been acquitted of an intoxicated driving charge.
Prosecutors had accused the Ducks wide receiver of driving under the influence of marijuana last March.
The six-member Eugene Municipal Court jury deliberated for about 2 1/2 hours before returning its verdict Thursday.
Huff told The Register-Guard that he was relieved but also expected the verdict because, in his words, "I am innocent."
Earlier in the day, Huff testified that his wobbly performance during a videotaped field sobriety test was not due to marijuana. He said he has always had trouble with balance and was also affected by cold weather during the traffic stop.
Before reading the jury's verdict, Judge Don Diment found Huff not guilty of speeding moments before a Eugene police officer stopped his car on the night of his arrest.
 
WA Athlete's Father Accused Of Facebook Rant
No charges will be filed against a Vancouver WA area father who ranted on Facebook that he was hoping for a shooting at the nearby school of an opposing prep basketball team.
The Camas police department says the 39-year-old has apologized and acknowledged the stupidity of his Tuesday night rant during a game between Camas and Skyview high schools.
Although the post was discovered near the end of the basketball game, police were not notified until Wednesday.
He reportedly wrote: "Camas fans!!!!! Worst in the league!!!! I hope someone shoots up their school really soon!!!!!!!!!!"
Camas Police Sgt. Scot Boyles says the man's actions were alarming, but did not reach the level of criminal action.
Boyles says the man has been banned from all Camas and Vancouver school district property.

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