Brady Murrietta's silence rounding the bases and his intense stare at St. John Bosco's pitcher after his home run sent a clear message: Don't poke the bear.
Ra Shaya Kyle had 25 points and 11 rebounds, Amarachi Kimpson scored seven of her 20 points in overtime to lead 12th-seeded Miami to victory. Kimpson hit a 3-pointer to open overtime and Miami led the rest of the way with Kimpson adding four free throws in the final 22 seconds.
You have to have special moments in order to be a special team. What I want the team to know is don't take it for granted, Smith said. I want them to celebrate. I want them to feel this. I want them to be happy, not be too cool for school. We beat Stanford and we're going to act like we beat Stanford because of the respect we have for them. These moments are really, really meaningful.
The late Joe Kapp could make that claim. He played two sports at Cal, best known for leading the Bears to their most recent Rose Bowl following the 1958 season. But the man who later quarterbacked the BC Lions to a Canadian Grey Cup championship and the Minnesota Vikings into Super Bowl IV also played hoops for the Bears. He was an All-American in football, a backup guard on the basketball team. Kapp played the 1956-57 and '57-58 seasons, averaging just 1.8 points each season.
For two weeks, West Coast Conference basketball fans have wondered: Will injured Gonzaga star Graham Ike be ready to play Saturday night when Saint Mary's visits the nation's sixth-ranked team? Do they have Ike or not? I don't know, Gaels coach Randy Bennett pondered on Thursday after practice. We're prepared for either team. Gonzaga coach Mark Few said he expects the two-time All-WCC forward to play after missing the past three games with an ankle injury. Still out is Ike's frontcourt mate Braden Huff, likely
UC Irvine has a +236 scoring differential, topping opponents by 9.8 points per game. It is putting up 77.5 points per game to rank 148th in college basketball and is giving up 67.7 per outing to rank 38th in college basketball. The Anteaters are averaging 77.5 points, 8.5 fewer than the Mustangs concede. UC Irvine hits 5.4 three-pointers per game (350th in college basketball), 2.1 fewer than its opponents (7.5).