A Grip on Sports: The road wasn’t completely kind to area college basketball teams Saturday

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Three local college basketball teams spent Saturday in cities other than the ones they live in. And how they got to their eventual results was different in every case.

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• We’ll start in the Los Angeles area, where both Washington State and Gonzaga spent the day out of the Inland Northwest’s muck and cold. Lucky them. Though, in the Cougars’ case, that was all the luck they had.

They faced off with USC at the Galen Center sans the player that seems to make their offense go: Isaac Bonton. The point guard was unavailable due to an undisclosed injury and that spelled doom for WSU’s offense.

With Bonton on the court, slashing to the hoop or spreading the defense from the perimeter, everyone else gets better shots. Without him? The opposite occurs.

I have a good friend who is a USC season ticket holder. We were texting back-and-forth before the game. When I heard Bonton was not playing I texted “USC by 11.” I was wrong. It was 19.

• Twenty-seven miles up the road in Malibu (a journey that can take two or three hours, depending on traffic), the Zags were missing a key component as well. And not for the first time.

As the game broadcast began, Roxy Bernstein informed those of us left behind in the cold rain of Saturday night Killian Tillie was a game-time decision. Seems that Tillie had re-aggravated his ankle injury. And the decision was not to play.

Lucky for Gonzaga, Filip Petrusev was healthy. Sorry, wrong word. Dominant would have been better. Maybe superhuman. At least in the first half.

Petrusev scored 20 points before intermission, the Zags had 40 and yet, even with Pepperdine star Colbey Ross sitting with foul trouble, led by only four.

Things changed out of the locker room. Other players made a few shots, the defense had one shutdown stretch and, viola, the second-ranked Zags had won their 39th consecutive WCC road game.

• Eastern Washington needed a road win in the worst way. Heck, the Eagles needed a win. They got both in Portland.

Thanks to Jacob Davidson.

Davidson scored 30 points, which is impressive in its own way. What made it even more impressive is he only took 12 shots from the floor and 12 from the line. Thanks to a total of five misses from the two spots, his offensive efficiency was off the charts.

With Mason Peatling adding another 22 points, the Eagles were able to hold off Portland State and head back to Cheney with their 10th Big Sky Conference victory.

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Gonzaga: Jim Meehan also was in Malibu and he earned his keep by writing this game analysis and the keys to GU’s victory. … We watched at home and wrote a TV Take. … The folks in the office put together a recap with highlights. … There is also a whole bunch of photos to pass along. … The women finished off their home season, honored their seniors and clinched a share of the WCC title with a win over Santa Clara. Jim Allen was in McCarthey and has this coverage. … Tyler Tjomsland has the photo gallery. … The baseball team picked up its first win of the season by upsetting No. 25 Oregon State. … Elsewhere in the WCC, San Diego came close once again, but visiting BYU scored late and survived a last-second game-winning attempt for a 72-71 victory. … Saint Mary’s held off Pacific.

WSU: We have an Associated Press story from Los Angeles on USC’s victory as well as coverage of the game from the LA-area newspapers. … The soccer team added an assistant who has deep experience in the Pac-12. That’s part of our local briefs for this week. … The baseball team lost at Bakersfield. … Around the Pac-12, we nominate this as “The No-Duh Headline of the Year.” Washington lost its eighth consecutive game yesterday, falling to UCLA 67-57 at Pauley after leading again in the second half. … Oregon State just couldn’t figure out a way to penetrate Colorado’s defense. The Buffs picked up their 20th win of the season. … Oregon will try to keep pace when it hosts upset-minded Utah today. … Stanford has lost four consecutive games and Arizona has figured out how to win away from home. … Arizona State and Remy Martin are making themselves a part of the conversation.  … In football news, Oregon has filled the hole on its coaching staff. … Oregon State picked up almost $2 million in a settled lawsuit with its former athletic director.

EWU: As we mentioned above, the men’s basketball team won in Portland. … The women also won, upsetting the Vikings in Cheney. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, Montana stayed on top of the standings by defeating last-place Idaho State. … Montana State picked up a win against full-strength Weber State. … Northern Arizona handled Southern Utah. … Northern Colorado held on for a win at Sacramento State.

Whitworth: The Pirates honored their seniors last night in the best way possible, a hard-fought win at the Fieldhouse. Dan Thompson was there and has this coverage.

CCS: A late 3-pointer lifted Wenatchee Valley past the Sasquatch, handing CCS only their second loss of the NWAC season.

Preps: It was a busy night in high school hoops, with something happening that seems coincidental, yet still amazing. Ryan Moffett broke the boys’ state career scoring record in a district game at Medical Lake High while across the state at Eastmont High, Cashmere’s Hailey Van Lith broke the girls’ scoring record on the same night. Dave Nichols has the story. … We also can pass along the results from girls and boys 4A district play and state playoff action from boys and girls in the area. … Regional wrestling concluded yesterday and Ryan Collingwood pulled together all the results for this roundup.

Chiefs: Spokane traveled to the Tri-Cities and stopped the Americans 6-4.

Curling: Jesse Tinsley has a photo gallery from Saturday’s national championship matches.

Mariners: The roster has to take shape over the next few weeks, but the M’s have some pitching questions to answer.

Seahawks: Speaking of rosters, the Hawks will use the offseason ahead to find tune theirs.

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• Don’t tell anyone, but I’m contemplating dipping into our savings and leaving the area for a while. Maybe fly to Phoenix and watch baseball. Or to Florida and watch alligators. Or maybe even to Hawaii and watch nothing. I’m tired of the winter. Of the low-hanging clouds. Of having to put a coat on. I want to wear flip flops, shorts, sunscreen and a big, floppy hat. Is that too much to ask? Until later …