No. 1 Bruins Overcome Cougars 55-52

Washington State succeeded in slowing down top-ranked UCLA. The Cougars just couldn't stop the Bruins down the stretch. <br/><br/>Darren Collison and Arron Afflalo scored 13 points apiece, Josh Shipp

Friday, December 29th 2006, 6:28 am

By: News On 6

Washington State succeeded in slowing down top-ranked UCLA. The Cougars just couldn't stop the Bruins down the stretch.

Darren Collison and Arron Afflalo scored 13 points apiece, Josh Shipp added 11 points and UCLA overcame Washington State's slowdown game for a 55-52 victory Thursday night in the Pac-10 opener for both teams.

Collison had all of his points in the second half, including a 3-pointer that put UCLA (12-0) ahead for good.

``I wasn't concerned with how bad I was doing, I just wanted to win,'' he said. ``I wanted to pick up the intensity offensively and defensively.''

In other games involving ranked teams Thursday night, it was: No. 2 North Carolina 87, Rutgers 48; No. 7 Arizona 94, California 85; No. 9 Kansas 63, Detroit 43; No. 11 Texas A&M 101, Grambling State 27; Southern California 86, No. 14 Washington 79 in two overtimes; No. 17 LSU 92, Mississippi Valley State 58; No. 20 Oregon 76, Portland 49; No. 21 Tennessee 101, Tennessee Tech 77; No. 23 Air Force 66, George Washington 52; No. 24 Nevada 89, Maine 69; and No. 25 Clemson 75, Georgia 60.

Washington State (11-2) dropped to 0-25 all-time against top-ranked teams, including 0-17 against the Bruins.

Derrick Low led the Cougars with 14 points and Nikola Koprivica added 12, but missed a tying 3-pointer as time expired that Collison got a fingertip on. Kyle Weaver had 10 rebounds.

``I thought we had them,'' Low said. ``I felt like I let the team down.''

No. 2 North Carolina 87, Rutgers 48

Brandan Wright had 19 points and fellow freshman Wayne Ellington scored 17 to lead North Carolina (11-1) to the victory.

Adrian Hill scored 13 points for the visiting Scarlet Knights (6-6).

No. 7 Arizona 94, California 85

Marcus Williams scored 21 points and Ivan Radenovic added 17 to help Arizona earn its 10th straight victory.

Arizona (10-1, 1-0 Pac-10) is unbeaten since losing its opener at Virginia Nov. 12, the school's longest win streak since 2003.

Ryan Anderson led visiting Cal (8-5, 0-1) with 16 points.

No. 9 Kansas 63, Detroit 43

At Lawrence, Kan., Mario Chalmers scored 22 points and mistake-prone Kansas pulled away late. The Jayhawks (11-2) put together a 9-0 run to take a 50-37 lead with 6:02 to play.

Brandon Cotton had 20 for Detroit (3-9).

No. 11 Texas A&M 101, Grambling State 27

Josh Carter tied a school record with eight 3-pointers and Texas A&M scored the first 28 points of the game.

Texas A&M (11-2) won its 15th straight home game and posted the most lopsided win by a Big 12 team in conference history.

Kendric Baker and Anthony Williams scored six points apiece for the visiting Tigers (2-5).

Southern California 86, No. 14 Washington 79, 2OT

Nick Young scored five of his 25 points in the second overtime and Taj Gibson finished with 22 to help host Southern California (11-3) beat Washington in the Pac-10 opener for both teams.

Spencer Hawes scored a career-high 24 points for Washington (10-2) and made his first 3-pointer of the season at the buzzer to send the game into double overtime, but the Huskies were outscored 13-6 in the second extra period.

No. 17 LSU 92, Mississippi Valley St. 58

Glen Davis had 19 points and 13 rebounds to lead host LSU (9-3) to the win in the second round of the Hispanic College Fund Classic.

Larry Cox had nine points and eight rebounds for MVSU (3-8).

No. 19 Notre Dame 101, Rider 51

Rob Kurz scored 23 points and Kyle McAlarney had 21 points on seven 3-pointers for the Irish.

Notre Dame (11-1) won its 10th straight game in its best run since winning 11 in a row during the 1986-87 season.

Ryan Thompson and Terrance Mouton each scored 10 points for visiting Rider (7-5).

No. 20 Oregon 76, Portland 49

Maarty Leunen had 24 points and 14 rebounds for host Oregon, which is off to a 12-0 start for the first time since the 1946-47 season.

Darren Cooper scored 12 points for Portland (3-12).

No. 21 Tennessee 101, Tennessee Tech 77

At Knoxville, Tenn., junior guard JaJuan Smith had a career-high 23 points for Tennessee.

The Vols (11-2), coming off a 111-105 overtime win against Texas on Dec. 23, have won seven straight.

Belton Rivers led Tennessee Tech (5-7) with 20 points.

No. 22 Memphis 87, Lamar 62

Chris Douglas-Roberts had 19 points and seven rebounds, and Memphis overcame a slow first half to get the win.

The Tigers (10-3) built their lead to 22 midway through the second half and coasted to their fourth win in the last five. The Cardinals shot just 31 percent.

James Davis led visiting Lamar (5-8) with 20 points.

No. 23 Air Force 66, George Washington 52

At Santa Clara, Calif., Dan Nwaelele scored 14 of his 19 points in the second half and Air Force beat George Washington in the first round of the Cable Car Classic.

Jacob Burtschi scored 21 points as the Falcons (12-1) won their eighth straight.

Rob Diggs scored 16 points for the Colonels (7-3).

No. 24 Nevada 89, Maine 69

Marcelus Kemp scored 20 points and Nick Fazekas added 18 points and 13 rebounds for host Nevada (11-1).

Junior Bernal scored 18 points for Maine (5-7).

No. 25 Clemson 75, Georgia 60

Freshman Trevor Booker had 14 points and Vernon Hamilton finished with 13 to help Clemson to remain undefeated.

The Tigers (13-0) are off to their best start since the 1986-87 team started 17-0.

Terrance Woodbury scored 14 points for visiting Georgia (8-3), which finished with a season-high 26 turnovers.