Sunday's Shootaround: Pac-10 struggles continue, and another ranked team falls

Terrible weekend to be a Pac-10 fan. First, Cal looks ugly losing two games at the CvC, then UCLA gets another bad break as Nikola Dragovic is charged with a felony, and now tonight's action:

• Sacramento State 65, Oregon State 63: The Beavers were down 41-21 at halftime, but made a furious rally in the second half. With 2:41 left, Joe Burton finished the comeback with a lay-up to put OSU up 60-58. But Sultan Toles-Bey, who led the Hornets with 17 points and 6 boards, responded with a lay-in of his own and two free throws on the next possession to give the Hornets a lead they would not relinquish. This is quite a fall for Craig Robinson's program. While no one was predicting a national title this season, the Beavers won seven games in the Pac-10 last season. Bringing everyone back this year, there was some talk that OSU could make the tournament this year. Losing three of your first four, including games to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Sacramento State (who won two games last season) will end that chatter very quickly. If the Beavers can get Roberto Nelson eligible, things might be turned around.
• Loyola Marymount 67, USC 59: USC opened up a 12 point lead early in the second half, but when starter Kasey Cunningham injured a knee, the Trojans, who already are limited to a six man rotation, were forced to go with five guys the rest of the way. The score was 46-36 when he was injured, and the Lions, carried by Jared DuBois (11 of his 17 points) and Larry Davis (all 9 of his points), outscored the Trojans 31-13 the rest of the way. As if things weren't bad enough, today USC got news that Dwayne Polee reopened his recruitment.
  
• Portland 88, Oregon 81: Oregon opened up double digit leads twice in the first half, but Portland went on a 15-1 run to open the second half, building a 52-46 lead they would never give up. Nik Raivio led the way for Portland with 24 points and 8 boards to lead four players in double figures. As bad as this looks, it is not a terrible loss for the Ducks. This was a road game, and Portland was picked by some to win the WCC.
  

VCU 82, Oklahoma 69: Up one early in the game, the Rams hit six straight threes during a 20-8 run to blow this game open. VCU built the lead to as big as 17, and the Sooners, who looked out of sync offensively and were cold from the field, were never able to get closer than 10. Jay Gavin had 20 to lead the Rams, while Larry Sanders added 17. Tiny Gallon led the Sooners with 15 points and 11 boards.

Butler 64, Evansville 60: Butler hung on to win this one, but they didn't do it in pretty fashion. The Bulldogs were just 14-50 from the field, 5-18 from three, and 31-44 from the line - all well below their usual numbers. Up 53-40 with under four minutes left, Butler allowed Evansville to shoot their way back into the game. The good news? Butler won their second game on the road early in the season. Regardless of who you are playing, road wins this early in the season are always good.

Other notable scores:

• Temple 73, Siena 69: The Owls gave Georgetown everything they could handle during the tip-off marathon, and proved tonight that may have not been a fluke. Down early in the second half, Temple went on a 13-0 run to open up a 49-43 lead. Juan Fernandez scored a career high 20 to lead the Owls.
• Kentucky 92, Rider 63: The Wildcats got 21 and 11 dimes from John Wall, but defense was the story of this game. UK held a good shooting Broncs team to 4-17 from deep and had 10 steals and 10 blocks on the day.
• Duke 104, Radford 67: The Devils were 18-32 from deep, including 6-8 from freshman Andre Dawkins. Four games into the season, and Scheyer still has no turnovers.
  
• Georgetown 63, Savannah State 44: Jason Clark led four players in double figures with 14 points as the Hoyas picked up a road win.
• Louisville 69, East Tennessee State 56: Louisville used an 18-0 first half run to build up a 25-10 lead and hung on to beat the Buccaneers. Edgar Sosa scored 13 of his 16 in the first half.
• Illinois 94, Presbyterian 48: The Illini got 15 from freshman DJ Richardson to lead the scoring.
• Northeastern 64, Utah State 61: Matt Janning had 14 points as Northeastern came back from a 15 point first half deficit to win.
• Oklahoma State 82, North Texas 68: James Anderson scored 25 points and Obi Muonelo had 17 points and sparked a 20-8 run in the second half to break open a 51-49 game.
• Virginia 76, Oral Roberts 55: Mike Scott had 15 points and 10 boards and Sylvan Landesberg added 14 points for the Cavs.
• Nevada 112, Houston 99: Big numbers in this game - Aubrey Coleman had 34 points and 7 boards for Houston, while Armon Johnson added 22 points and 12 assists.
• Niagara 63, UCF 46: Demetrius Williamson led the Purple Eagles with 13 points.
• Tulsa 84, South Alabama 62: Jerome Jordan had 23 points and Justin Hurtt added 21 points for the Golden Hurricane.
• Florida State 89, Mercer 50: The Seminoles put on a defensive clinic, forcing 20 turnovers while allowing Mercer to shoot 19.7% from the floor.
  
• Boston College 75, South Dakota State 58: Playing without Rakim Sanders once again, the Eagles got 21 points from Joe Trapani in the win.
  
• Mississippi State 67, Bethune-Cookman 51: Jarvis Varnado had 10 points, 10 boards, and 4 blocks as he became the SEC's all-time leading shot blocker.
• Louisiana-Monroe 74, Morehead State 73: Tony Hooper knocked down a jumper at the buzzer to win the game. Kenneth Faried had 24 points and 12 boards.
• Xavier 105, Sacred Heart 65: Jordan Crawford had a career-high 26 points to lead the Musketeers.