Buffaloes avenge controversial defeat

Spencer Dinwiddie scored 21 points and freshman Xavier Johnson added a season-high 19 as Colorado avenged a bitter overtime loss at Arizona with a 71-58 rout of the ninth-ranked Wildcats in Boulder, Colo., on Thursday night.

Unlike last month’s game in Tucson, Ariz., there was no controversy at the end of regulation – just Colorado fans storming the court in celebration.

On Jan. 3, the Buffaloes’ apparent game-winning 3-pointer was waved off at the end of regulation even though replays appeared to show the shot was taken in time.

Dinwiddie scored 19 points in the second half, leading the Buffaloes (17-7, 7-5 Pac-12) to their 11th win in 12 home games and sending the Wildcats (20-4, 8-4) to their second straight loss.

Johnson also had nine rebounds.

Solomon Hill led Arizona with 12 points and Mark Lyons had 11.

The Buffaloes led 30-23 at halftime and were never seriously threatened over the final 20 minutes.

They started the second half with three free throws from Dinwiddie that gave them a double-digit lead. Dinwiddie added a dunk off a steal by Johnson and Andre Roberson’s 3-pointer made it 38-23 with 17:50 left, forcing Arizona coach Sean Miller to call his second timeout.

The Wildcats got back in it with consecutive 3s from Lyons and Nick Johnson, and when Grant Jerrett hit a 3-pointer from the top of the circle, the Wildcats had chipped the lead down to 45-39 with 10:43 remaining.

After Colorado coach Tad Boyle’s timeout, the Buffs went on an 8-0 run to restore their double-digit lead.

Every time the Wildcats cut the deficit into single digits, the Buffaloes went on a run to restore the cushion. Xavier Talton’s fastbreak bucket made it 56-41, and Askia Booker’s bucket made it 68-53.

California 76, UCLA 63: David Kravish had 18 points and 13 rebounds, Richard Solomon added 17 points and eight rebounds, and California eased past UCLA at Berkeley, Calif.

Pac-12 leading scorer Allen Crabbe had 15 of his 16 points in the first half to help the Golden Bears (15-9, 7-5) sprint out to a 28-point lead before the break. He added five assists and five rebounds as Cal held off the Bruins (18-7, 8-4) for its fourth win in five games, including three over the conference’s top teams.

Jordan Adams scored 15 points, and Shabazz Muhammad had 13 points and 11 rebounds for UCLA.

USC 65, Stanford 64: Jio Fontan scored 15 points and visiting Southern California (12-13, 7-5) survived a late rally by Stanford (15-10, 6-6).

Josh Huestis led the Cardinal with a career-high 22 points.