sport world

JJ Fiddler is a sportswriter and videographer who has been covering the Long Beach-area sports world for multiple newspapers since 2004. After attending Long Beach State and creating the first full sports page at the Union Weekly Newspaper, he adopted Long Beach as his home town and is a member of the Long Beach Century Club, where he is a two-time winner of the Keith Cordes Award for best promotion of the city through sports. Reach the author at [email protected] or follow JJ on Twitter: @PTGazetteSports.

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Not only did the Millikan Rams (19-9) take a CIF-SS Division 1AA first-round game in dominant fashion at home, topping Warren 90-57, but they also eaed head coach Lorene Morgan her 500th win as coach, all at Millikan.

“It’s great to have all of the wins for Millikan,” Morgan said after the game. Her parents Bob and Elaine (94 and 93 years old, respectively) came down from Lake Tahoe to see their daughter become the 25th winningest coach in Califoia. Morgan, now in her 28th year at Millikan, is the only current coach in the area with 500 victories.

Millikan opened the game with an 11-0 run and never looked back. The Rams scored 33 points in the first eight minutes as senior Kaylin Ellis and junior Tyler Frierson both scored a game-high 18 points. Millikan senior guard Esther Franks added 13 points. Warren senior Janeane Heandez led the Bears (4-22) with 12 points.

Millikan will be on the road Saturday for the second round against the winner of the Arcadia/Culver City game.

LOS ALAMITOS 68, JSERRA 34 >> The Griffins were on cruise control against JSerra in an easy win in the first round of the CIF-SS Division 1AA playoffs.

“Those are almost the tougher ones, because you’ve got to keep your kids focused,” said Griffins coach Rich Alvarez. “I thought our girls did a good job of staying with it.”

Los Al was dialed in from the start, taking a 7-0 lead and widening that to 14-3 before JSerra was able to convert its first field goal. The strength of the Griffins is their stellar backcourt, the talented freshman/senior tandem of Cailyn Crocker and Dani Iwami.

Crocker is one of the best frosh players anywhere, and she flashed her talent with some nice no-look assists, finishing with 18 points, seven rebounds, and three assists.

“She’s a special player,” said Alvarez, who wasn’t surprised that the ninth grader stepped up in her first-ever playoff game. “She lives for the big game, this is where she’s going to be best.”

Dani Iwami, who has signed a scholarship to Hawaii Pacific, and was outstanding as well, particularly as a disrupter in the Griffins’ press. Iwami finished with 13 points and four assists.

Los Alamitos (22-5) will advance to the second round, with a Saturday game against the winner of Lynwood and Wilson.

DOWNEY 59, RANCHO CUCAMONGA 26 >> The Vikings will travel to second-seeded Valencia on Saturday for a second-round game.

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BISHOP MONTGOMERY 89, LAKEWOOD 47 >> The Lancers’ season ended on the road at Bishop Montgomery.

JJ Fiddler contributed to this report.

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UCLA knew it would have its hands full this week.

Set to arrive at Pauley Pavilion was Utah’s Jakob Poeltl, a 7-footer who may be the odds-on favorite to win Pac-12 Player of the Year. Entering Thursday night’s tipoff in Los Angeles, the sophomore center ranked second in the conference in scoring, first in field goal percentage, and fifth in rebounding. No other player in the league had a top-five spot in all three categories.

Poeltl, in other words, is the type of matchup that’s almost impossible to duplicate in practice.

“There haven’t been too many guys — if any — that we’ve seen, that plays the way he plays,” said Bruin point guard Bryce Alford.

UCLA contained Poeltl in the first half, forcing him into missing four of his first five shots from the floor. After averaging 22 points in his last seven games — making 74 percent of his attempts along the way — the future first-round pick entered halftime with just two baskets.

It didn’t last. Poeltl ended the game with 15 points, making seven of 15 shots while corralling 11 rebounds. The Utes finished off a 75-73 decision. It was their first-ever win in Pauley Pavilion, and their first over the Bruins in Los Angeles in more than half a century.

And, it almost certainly ended UCLA’s chances at an at-large bid to the NCAA Touament.

“This was a must-win,” said head coach Steve Alford, whose Bruins likely need to sweep their last five games for a spot in March Madness. “You come back home, you’ve got to win home games. You lose home games, you’re not going to fare well in this league. ...

“Where we’re at record-wise, and we’re at standings-wise, that’s what we deserve.”

Fittingly, a game that saw 14 lead changes in the first 17 minutes still featured a bit of late drama. With less than four minutes left on the clock, Isaac Hamilton and Alford combined to score eight points for UCLA in 72 seconds, stringing together an and-one, a 3-pointer, and a layup. A deficit that had grown to as much as 14 points suddenly stood at just two.

Utah, which had all the momentum just minutes earlier, looked flustered. Poeltl tried for a layup, but center Thomas Welsh recorded his first block of the game. Senior Jordan Loveridge, who already had five 3-pointers, missed from beyond the arc.

However, the Bruins (14-12, 5-8) couldn’t capitalize either. UCLA made 10 of its last 12 shots, but the two misses came in the final 45 seconds.

Truth be told, they had been done in much earlier by their own lack of defensive intensity. Anchored by Poeltl’s presence in the paint, Utah (20-7, 9-5) scored 12 of its first 14 baskets in the second half came on either a layup, dunk, or tip-in.

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“He did a good job of making us be slow to come double him,” Bryce Alford said of Poeltl. “He was passing out to shooters, and they were rotating the ball.”

With 15 seconds left, the Utes pushed ahead on a 3-pointer by Brandon Taylor, giving themselves a five-point cushion. Welsh hit a jumper shortly afterward, but Utah’s Kyle Kuzma somehow found himself behind the entire UCLA defense. He reeled in the long inbound pass, and flushed in a final dunk for good measure.

When Holiday pulled up for meaningless 3-pointer at the buzzer, there wasn’t a Ute near him. They all knew the game was over.

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It was a bittersweet Thursday for the Clippers. They made a trade that brought forward Jeff Green from the Memphis Grizzlies for Lance Stephenson and a protected first-round draft pick in either 2019 or 2020, or a second-round pick in 2022.

But Clippers coach Doc Rivers wasn’t able to talk about the trade before his team took on the San Antonio Spurs because he, son Austin Rivers and Chris Paul had not yet retued from attending the funeral of Ingrid Williams, wife of Oklahoma City assistant coach Monty Williams. Ingrid Williams died Feb. 10, a day after she was in a car accident, leaving behind her and Monty’s five children.

The Clippers still had a game to play, however, and they defeated the Spurs 105-86 before a sellout crowd of 19,410 at Staples Center. On paper, it’s the biggest win of the season for the Clippers, who entered the game a collective 0-4 against Golden State, San Antonio and Oklahoma City — the three teams ahead of the Clippers in the Weste Conference.

But Doc Rivers wasn’t about to boast.

“Well, it’s nice to beat anyone,” he said. “Obviously, beating San Antonio is nice. Both teams were short-handed, both teams played like they were just on All-Star break. But it was nice to win. I thought defensively we were really good with really small matchups, so I was happy with that.”

The Clippers shot 50 percent overall, 48 percent (12 of 25) from 3-point range. The Spurs shot 42.2 percent, just 23.5 percent (4 of 17) from beyond the arc.

“No excuses,” said Spurs forward LaMarcus Aldridge, who scored 10 points on just 3-of-12 shooting. “We just had one of those nights where guys did not play as good as they should have. They (the Clippers) definitely competed at a very high level and we never found our offensive rhythm.”

The Clippers led 62-42 with 5:35 left in the third quarter, only to see the Spurs cut that to five (72-67) with 10:26 left to play. But when Paul made a layup with 3 1/2 minutes to go for a 96-79 lead, the Spurs (45-9) were done.

San Antonio had won six in a row.

The Clippers (36-18) were led by Paul, who scored 28 points and doled out 12 assists. Jamal Crawford scored 19, J.J. Redick 17, Paul Pierce had 12 points and DeAndre Jordan scored nine points, pulled down 17 rebounds, made three steals and blocked three shots.

Crawford was stoked about the victory.

“We just believe we can win,” he said. “When we get our guys back, we’ll be ever better.”

Tony Parker led San Antonio with 14 points, and David West had 12.

The Clippers were without Blake Griffin (hand), Austin Rivers (hand), Pablo Prigioni (illness) and the newly acquired Green. The Spurs were sans Kawhi Leonard (calf) and Manu Ginobili (groin).

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Griffin was at the game in a suit. Assistant equipment manager Matias Testi, who was punched by Griffin on Jan. 23 in Toronto, was on hand as well.

The Clippers are now 19-5 without Griffin.

Again, this could have been a real happy time for the Clippers. It wasn’t.

“It was a tough day,” Doc Rivers said of the trip to Oklahoma City. “I think a lot of us got our strength from Monty, really. It was probably the best speech I’ve ever heard, especially in the circumstances that he was going through, and still has to go through; it’s not over for him.”

The Clippers’ contingent to the funeral was joined by one from San Antonio. It included forwards Tim Duncan and West, and coach Gregg Popovich. All were on the same airplane.

Austin Rivers played for Williams for two-plus seasons when Williams was head coach at New Orleans. The younger Rivers was downcast as he spoke to reporters inside the team locker room about an hour before the game.

“It was tough,” he said. “You just see something like that happen to such a good guy. You know, Monty ... no one deserves anything like that, let alone someone like that. Or a family like that, most importantly. Ingrid was one of the sweetest people I’ve ever met, just from my days in New Orleans.

“Just to see that happen to the family, the kids are so young. But Monty was amazing today. His speech was incredible. And he was probably one of the strongest ones in there, honestly. So it was a great service.”

As for Green, he figures to be available Saturday when the Clippers host Golden State.

“I envision using him in a lot of ways,” Doc Rivers said. “It allows us to switch a lot more in some of the pick-and-roll schemes. He can play the 3, he can play the 4.”

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PACIFIC PALISADES >> Whether or not the weather really matters at Riviera, it figures out a way to soak itself into the storyline of the Northe Trust Open.

Pages and pages of data have been kept on this matter since Thor began tossing around lightning bolts onto the Doppler radar screen. But when this PGA Tour event comes around at Hogan’s Slip-N-Slide Alley, they throw out all the records.

There’s enough empirical evidence that rain will not even consider helping out a drought-stricken Southe Califoia population unless it coincides with the world’s best golfers’ arrival at the storied country club.

They just know how to bring it. They’re the professionals.

“Every year, we just come to expect that it’ll rain at least one of the days,” said Gordie Johnson, the longtime marshal on the 10th hole, as the sun was starting to make itself known in the late moing Thursday.

“We’ve been drowned like rats some years, wading through all that mud before they got these concrete paths put in… it can be a real mess.”

Even if we’re enduring the most outrageous February heat wave recorded – like, this week – a downpour comes.

Not that we’re complaining. Give us a rain-check on that.

Plenty of PGA L.A. Tour stops have been shortened or delayed because it got too sloppy. Last year, it arrived during the three-man playoff that would decide the champion.

This year, it snuck in late Wednesday, pounded the course oveight, and hung around when balls were in the air at about 6:40 a.m. By about 9 a.m., it moved on.

“We’re finally now able to start taking off layers that we had on this moing,” Sue Robelotto, the marshal captain at No. 2, said around noontime.

You’re welcome, the golf gods would say if allowed to speak.

As much as rain may mess with traffic, flash floods and patio fuiture, it is a welcome sight for a golf course, especially one like Riviera that traditionally drains with the best of them. With it come more opportunities for the pros to go for the flag stick, stick their landings and gain some confidence.

“I’ve never seen the golf course look better,” touament director O.D. Vincent said prior to the first round. “The rain was a blessing. The course (had been) so firm.”

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Looking sharp is one thing. Playing sharper is another.

Bubba Watson, the 2014 Northe Trust Open champ who was in a three-way tie for the early lead at 5-under 66, was happy to wake up early and knock things off before noon Thursday.

“Today is totally different than yesterday (pro-am practice round on Wednesday),” he said. “Yesterday was rock hard, fairways were running, greens were running … Today, obviously with the rain, it was easier. The golf course is accepting shots.”

Rory McIlroy accepted that assessment.

“With these conditions, it didn’t punish you,” said the 26-year-old from Northe Ireland who should be immune to poor weather conditions. He managed a 4-under 67 in his first round at Riviera and has little qualms with being tied for fifth with three days to play.

But then came Camilo Villegas to flush away all that logical thinking. Challenging the course record with a string of birdies on his back nine, the Colombian ended three-shots clear of the field with an 8-under 63.

Almost everyone else who was in the closest vicinity to his score were part of the early Thursday players. They might have gone to bed already by the time Villegas finished just before darkness, unaware of what he pulled off.

“Obviously, the rain yesterday made the golf course a lot more accessible,” he admitted. “I was surprised to see the balls (hit with) 5- and 6-irons stopping the way they were stopping on the greens.”

Just as surprised as Jordan Spieth might have been as a contrast to Villegas’ performance, finishing 16 shots behind him and one short of the bottom of the 144-man field.

Spieth, too, was an afteooner left high and dry with bogeys after bogey wrapped around the famed Bogey’s Tree on the 12th hole.

There’ll be no more precarious precipitation in the forecast from here out at the touament, sadly.

All those mud puddles that formed on the dirt-and-gravel cart paths that caused splash-zone trouble for spectators on Thursday should dry up. All the wet grass that collected on the bottom of the fans’ flip flops will fling itself away.

Even the wet sand that Fred Couples was flinging around in a fit of frustration on the 10th hole will be much more manageable.

“Maybe as the weekend goes on the course will be firmer and faster,” said McIlroy, with some whimsey. “I have enough problems just trying to figure out putts that go toward the ocean.”

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PACIFIC PALISADES >> Jordan Spieth and Camillo Villegas each had quite a day at the Northe Trust Open.

Villegas had a masterful round with nine birdies — including four consecutive on holes 5 through 8 — at Riviera Country Club. Spieth struggled mightily around the course and tued in a career-high eight bogeys and one double bogey in an 8-over 79 in the first round of the PGA Tour event on Thursday.

Spieth trails Villegas by 16 shots. Who could’ve predicted that? It was just that kind of day for the PGA Tour’s reigning player of the year.

“... It’s just a day to forget,” Spieth said. “It’s one in, hopefully every couple of years. I’ve shot 80 before. I’ve shot in the 80s a couple times on Tour. I shot 79 on a par 71. In the course of a career, I imagine it’s going to happen. Just unfortunate when it actually does.”

Spieth’s tee shots were off and his putter wasn’t working as he missed eight putts inside 10 feet. It was the third-worst round of his career. He was the last player on the driving range, trying to work out the kinks, and he’ll have plenty of work to do in that regard just to make the cut.

And it was a day to remember for Villegas, who had his groove on at Riviera and leads the field by three shots.

Villegas birdied four holes on the back nine — his day started at the 10th tee — and then got in a flow on the front nine. He nearly tied the course record of 61 (set by Ted Tryba in 1999) as his chip shot from 62 feet on the 9th and final hole hit the side of the cup. He missed a seven-footer and made a two-footer for bogey.

That hiccup was his lone bogey of the day.

“Nice front nine and then on the back nine I got on fire there for a little stretch and obviously, a little mishap on the last hole,” Villegas said. “But man, I thought I made the chip, too. It was a good day out there. Fun.”

Play was called because of darkness at 5:46 p.m. with 14 players still on the course. They’ll finish their rounds this moing.

Rory McIlroy, playing in his first Northe Trust Open, obviously was keen on Riviera and Riviera and its fans were keen on him. McIlroy shot a 4-under 67 and is tied for fifth, four shots behind Villegas.

“Tee to green was pretty good, but I felt like my pace on the greens was good,” McIlroy said.

“I left myself a lot of longer putts and I felt like my pace was good and I lag-putted well. I think all of the things that you need to do around this course, I did pretty well, and I’m happy with 4-under.”

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Chez Reavie, Bubba Watson and Luke List shot 5-under 66s and are in a three-way tie for second.

Watson, who won here in 2014, shot his lowest first-round score in the 10 times he’s played at Riviera.

“I love it because of the history, and as you can see, there’s some trees down compared to where the first time I played here,” Watson said. “I think I started playing here nine, 10 years ago. You can spray it a little bit but still manage the golf course. it’s one of those courses where it can bite you at any minute, but at the same time you can score and you can imagine a bunch of shots around the trees and around the greens.”

The course bit Spieth on Thursday.

Asked about Spieth’s day, Villegas responded: “Did he shoot 8-over? Let me tell you, that shows you what the mind can do. I mean, listen, look what Jordan has done the last few years and is it normal for him to go shoot 8-over par? No.

“I would say I was a little surprised with my 8-under, to be honest. This is a golf course where it’s not easy to shoot 8-under. I was surprised with some of the putts I made because the greens are not greens you’re expecting to make 20-footers and just kind of bumping it in the hole. I didn’t know Jordan shot 8 (over), but obviously he must have lost a little bit up here and then had a bad day. But again, everybody has bad days on this sport, man.”

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PACIFIC PALISADES >> Whether or not the weather really matters at Riviera, it figures out a way to soak itself into the storyline of the Northe Trust Open.

Pages and pages of data have been kept on this matter since Thor began tossing around lightning bolts onto the Doppler radar screen. But when this PGA Tour event comes around at Hogan’s Slip-N-Slide Alley, they throw out all the records.

There’s enough empirical evidence that rain will not even consider helping out a drought-stricken Southe Califoia population unless it coincides with the world’s best golfers’ arrival at the storied country club.

They just know how to bring it. They’re the professionals.

“Every year, we just come to expect that it’ll rain at least one of the days,” said Gordie Johnson, the longtime marshal on the 10th hole, as the sun was starting to make itself known in the late moing Thursday.

“We’ve been drowned like rats some years, wading through all that mud before they got these concrete paths put in… it can be a real mess.”

Even if we’re enduring the most outrageous February heat wave recorded – like, this week – a downpour comes.

Not that we’re complaining. Give us a rain-check on that.

Plenty of PGA L.A. Tour stops have been shortened or delayed because it got too sloppy. Last year, it arrived during the three-man playoff that would decide the champion.

This year, it snuck in late Wednesday, pounded the course oveight, and hung around when balls were in the air at about 6:40 a.m. By about 9 a.m., it moved on.

“We’re finally now able to start taking off layers that we had on this moing,” Sue Robelotto, the marshal captain at No. 2, said around noontime.

You’re welcome, the golf gods would say if allowed to speak.

As much as rain may mess with traffic, flash floods and patio fuiture, it is a welcome sight for a golf course, especially one like Riviera that traditionally drains with the best of them. With it come more opportunities for the pros to go for the flag stick, stick their landings and gain some confidence.

“I’ve never seen the golf course look better,” touament director O.D. Vincent said prior to the first round. “The rain was a blessing. The course (had been) so firm.”

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Looking sharp is one thing. Playing sharper is another.

Bubba Watson, the 2014 Northe Trust Open champ who was in a three-way tie for the early lead at 5-under 66, was happy to wake up early and knock things off before noon Thursday.

“Today is totally different than yesterday (pro-am practice round on Wednesday),” he said. “Yesterday was rock hard, fairways were running, greens were running … Today, obviously with the rain, it was easier. The golf course is accepting shots.”

Rory McIlroy accepted that assessment.

“With these conditions, it didn’t punish you,” said the 26-year-old from Northe Ireland who should be immune to poor weather conditions. He managed a 4-under 67 in his first round at Riviera and has little qualms with being tied for fifth with three days to play.

But then came Camilo Villegas to flush away all that logical thinking. Challenging the course record with a string of birdies on his back nine, the Colombian ended three-shots clear of the field with an 8-under 63.

Almost everyone else who was in the closest vicinity to his score were part of the early Thursday players. They might have gone to bed already by the time Villegas finished just before darkness, unaware of what he pulled off.

“Obviously, the rain yesterday made the golf course a lot more accessible,” he admitted. “I was surprised to see the balls (hit with) 5- and 6-irons stopping the way they were stopping on the greens.”

Just as surprised as Jordan Spieth might have been as a contrast to Villegas’ performance, finishing 16 shots behind him and one short of the bottom of the 144-man field.

Spieth, too, was an afteooner left high and dry with bogeys after bogey wrapped around the famed Bogey’s Tree on the 12th hole.

There’ll be no more precarious precipitation in the forecast from here out at the touament, sadly.

All those mud puddles that formed on the dirt-and-gravel cart paths that caused splash-zone trouble for spectators on Thursday should dry up. All the wet grass that collected on the bottom of the fans’ flip flops will fling itself away.

Even the wet sand that Fred Couples was flinging around in a fit of frustration on the 10th hole will be much more manageable.

“Maybe as the weekend goes on the course will be firmer and faster,” said McIlroy, with some whimsey. “I have enough problems just trying to figure out putts that go toward the ocean.”

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PARAMOUNT >> While the rest of the CIF Southe Section Division 1 boys soccer teams worry about reaching the second round of the playoffs with wins today, top-seeded Paramount is just worried about itself.

The No. 1-seeded Pirates (19-1-3, 9-0-1) have used an unselfish approach to win the San Gabriel Valley League and ea a bye through today’s first round. They’ll host the winner of the Alemany-Fountain Valley first-round match next Wednesday, and they only need three wins to reach the final.

“It’s the atmosphere,” Paramount head coach Rafa Villasenor said of his program’s success. “We’re mostly Latino, so we’re already about family. But this team especially is a family. They play for each other.”

The unselfish play on the field has made Paramount one of the most dangerous high school boys soccer teams in Califoia. Maxpreps had the Pirates in the Califoia top-5 rankings for almost the entire season.

“When we practice we’re not working on ourselves, we’re trying to make the team better,” Paramount junior Bryan Ortega said. “And we practice a lot.”

The speedy Ortega, arguably the most talented attacking player in the CIF-SS, dished out a team-high 20 assists this season to go with 13 goals. Fellow senior Oscar Canela scored a team-high 15 goals and junior Christian Perez added 10. The Pirates are the only Division 1 team that has three players with double-digit goals.

“I wouldn’t want to play us, that’s for sure,” Villasenor said.

A member of the Paramount High Class of 1994, Villasenor retued to his alma mater to teach. As a Pirate he competed in football, wrestling and baseball. When the football team needed help in 2004, Villasenor took over the special teams coaching duties. He was the kicker on the 1995 Long Beach City College national championship team.

When the soccer program needed help in 2010, Villasenor joined co-head coach Juan Navarro and leaed the ropes. The Pirates slowly improved, while the SGVL did the same, and they were all moved from Division 3 to Division 2 in 2013. Paramount reached the quarterfinals that year, and the second round in 2014, before Navarro handed the reins to Villasenor just in time for the SGVL to be moved up to Division 1 last season.

“Division 1 is a whole ‘nother level,” Villasenor said. “But we’d been scheduling the Trinity League teams (while in lower divisions) because you have to beat the best to be the best. That really helped us adjust.”

Paramount lost the SGVL title to rival Warren last season, but bounced back and reached the Division 1 quarterfinals, where the Pirates were upended by eventual champion Servite. The Friars are the No. 2 seed this season.

“That’s what we were thinking about all summer while we were conditioning and doing beach runs,” Canela said of the playoff loss. “We trust our coaches (to have us ready), and the hard work is paying off.”

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Villasenor has welcomed back Paramount alumni to help keep his program a tightly-knit one. Varsity assistants Edward Garcia, Tony Flores, Ignacio Villaseñor and Luis Silva, plus lower-level coaches Juan Mejia and Hector Rodriguez, are all former Pirates.

“We have a lot of help,” Ortega said. “They’re all right there any time we need them.”

That extra assistance has allowed each coach to focus on an area of concentration. For example, Garcia is the offensive mind so he has Ortega, Canela and the other attacking players running preconceived moves in the run of play.

“Like when (Ortega) gets the ball, that’s when it starts,” Canela said. “Depending on where (we are on the field) decides the play we run. When I get the ball, sometimes I already know where (Ortega) is going before he makes his run. Sometimes it’s hard to not stand and watch him.”

“I always tell the kids, ‘If you play for yourself you can be great. If you play for the team, you can be extraordinary,’” Villasenor said.

Paramount hasn’t lost since a Dec. 18 defeat at Loyola, which is the No. 3 seed in Division 1. Because it took the top seed away from Servite last week, the Pirates won’t have to play Loyola or the Friars until the final. The highest-ranked opponent Paramount will see before a possible final is No. 4 Los Alamitos. The Pirates and Griffins played to a scoreless draw in touament play before Paramount defeated Los Alamitos, 3-0, in December at home.

“We don’t do a lot of advanced scouting,” Villasenor said of the possible future playoff matchups.

“We’re just staying humble and taking care of ourselves,” he added. “We’re the only team that can beat us.”

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PACIFIC PALISADES >> Charlie Danielson is playing in his first professional event this week and was understandably nervous, not that he showed any signs of it.

Danielson — a senior golfer at Illinois — shot a 4-under 67 and is tied for fifth in the first round at the

Northe Trust Open. Players were still on the course when the round was called due to darkness at 5:46 p.m.

He started his day by teeing off at the par-4 10th hole, one that befuddles so many golfers, and birdied the hole.

“I got off to a good start,” Danielson said. “I made two birdies, and I still wasn’t settled in. I was nervous. My mind was going everywhere. But that was normal, and I knew that was normal and I made two sloppy bogeys after that. And then kind of settled down.

“I made a good putt on my sixth hole, a good par putt. After that, I started settling down. I hit some good quality shots, made a couple adjustments on my swing and was fortunate enough to make some birdies coming in.”

Danielson grew up in a small town in Wisconsin. He liked the indoor practice facilities at Illinois and was sporting his orange on Thursday. He handled a press conference with poise and ease and acted like he’s been here before.

“I was nervous. I would say I was just as nervous for the practice round, too, when all the pros are there watching you tee off on No. 1,” Danielson said. “But luckily, I had an iron in my hand, so I knew I had a pretty wide fairway. Got in the fairway, hit a good shot up there, somehow made the putt and the rest was history.”

Danielson is playing as an amateur and got in the field by winning the touament’s Collegiate Showcase on Monday. He has plenty of people pulling for him back at school, including his teammates on the Fighting Illini golf team.

He was a little star-struck.

“I was a little intimidated at first, but everyone has been so kind to me,” Danielson said. “They have always thought enough to come up and say congratulations and a couple guys said, you know, you eaed it so act like it. That’s been great.

“I saw Jordan Spieth yesterday at the hotel. I was in an elevator with Adam Scott. Talked to Patrick Rodgers. It’s been pretty special, and then I was able to play golf with Steve Stricker and Scott Langley and Paul Casey.”

Last call

After Spieth shot an 8-over 79 — the third-worst round of his career — he went to the driving range to work on his game and was the last player there. Spieth left the driving range as darkness was falling, just before 6 p.m.

Bubba backpedaling

A couple of weeks ago, Bubba Watson angered many when he said he was only playing in the Waste Management Open because his sponsors wanted him to. He made it known he didn’t like the course at TPC Scottsdale. He got booed, too.

After his 5-under 66 on Thursday, which has him in a tie for second at the Northe Trust Open, Watson joked: “I like the course. I like the community.”

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Watson wasn’t about to make the same mistake again, especially not at a touament he’s won.

Reporters laughed, and Watson said he had been practicing that line.

Sights and sounds

Actor Mark Wahlberg, who is a member at Riviera, is expected to be in attendance on Sunday. Wahlberg kept singing Riviera’s praises to Rory McIlroy, who is playing the touament for the first time ... There were some puddles and mud in places around the course from Wednesday night’s and Thursday moing’s rain. It always seems to rain at Riviera during the PGA Tour stop event, but sunshine is in the forecast the next three rounds ... A woman was walking across the second fairway in heels, leaving divots with each step. Remember to leave the heels at home when you’re walking a golf course.

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A 27-year-old bartender from Palos Verdes Estates was charged Thursday with punching a New York Mets fan in the Dodger Stadium parking lot, knocking him unconscious and causing him to hit his head on the ground, authorities said.

Michael Rae Papayans, who also was arrested along with Backstreet Boy Nick Carter during a January fight in a Florida, bar, could face up to seven years in prison if convicted of the Dodger Stadium attack Oct. 9.

The confrontation in Lot L occurred shortly after the Mets beat the Dodgers 2-1 in Game 1 of the National League Division Series. According to prosecutors, Papayans’ mother allegedly confronted four Mets fans walking to their car. One man in the group was wearing Mets attire.

“The woman allegedly yelled epithets shortly before her son, Michael Rae Papayans, joined in a verbal dispute with the group,” the District Attoey’s Office said in a statement. “The dispute escalated when the son allegedly punched a 50-year-old male in the head, knocking him unconscious. As the victim fell to the ground, he hit his head on the pavement, causing him to sustain serious head injuries.”

Papayans’ mother then allegedly kicked the man in the back while he was on the ground.

Four days later, Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck asked for the public’s help in finding the assailants.

“We believe it is a son and mother who are responsible for this assault,” he said.

An investigation by LAPD robbery-assault detectives led to Papayans, who was taken into custody Feb. 11. He was released on bail the following day. Prosecutors charged Papayans with one felony count of assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury with an allegation that he caused great bodily injury. He is scheduled to be arraigned March 11 in downtown Los Angeles. Prosecutors will ask a judge to set bail at $60,000.

The mother’s case was referred to the Los Angeles City Attoey’s Office for possible misdemeanor charges.

Calls to the Papayans residence on Paseo del Mar were not retued.

Papayans played baseball when he was a student at Rolling Hills Prep in San Pedro. According to social media posts, he appears to be engaged to Carter’s sister-in-law, Alexandra Kitt. He proposed to her on Christmas Day.

The January arrests of Carter and Papayans in Key West, Florida, stemmed from a fight that erupted at the Hog’s Breath Saloon. A police report said Papayans had blood on his hands, face and knees.

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According to the report, the two men entered the bar heavily intoxicated and a bartender refused to serve them. Carter and Papayans became agitated and aggressive toward the bartender, prompting bouncers to tell them to leave. Carter allegedly tried to choke a bouncer and Papayans struck a bouncer on the chin with his head, the police report said.

Papayans was captured on a police bodycam video saying, “I did not do anything. I was trying to get my friend to stop and they tackled me like they were f---ing Navy SEALs or something.” The video was posted on celebrity website TMZ.

The Oct. 9 attack was reminiscent of the March 31, 2011, assault of San Francisco Giants fan Bryan Stow, who suffered permanent brain damage following an attack in the Dodger Stadium parking lot.

Two men pleaded guilty to attacking Stow and were sentenced to state prison. The prosecutor on that case, Deputy District Attoey Michele Hanisee, was assigned to the Papayans case.

The Stowe attack raised questions about security at Dodger Stadium. Stow sued the team and was awarded $18 million.

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Chris Paul of the Clippers was averaging 32.3 minutes through 30 games. That is up to 33.0, with Paul averaging 33.5 minutes in the 23 games Blake Griffin had missed before Thursday’s game against the San Antonio Spurs.

That’s only 1.2 minutes more. But as coach Doc Rivers said the other day, they’ve been “hard minutes.” Furthermore, Paul has averaged a whopping 38.8 minutes the past five games; he played 48 in the Clippers’ overtime loss at Boston on Feb. 10.

Paul will be 31 on May 6. But he said this week he doesn’t have any particular plan for getting through the extra minutes.

“We haven’t talked about it because me and Doc are a lot alike in that we’re competitive,” Paul said. “You can say all that different type of stuff, but when the game gets here, it’s whatever we’ve got to do to win the game. I try to make sure I do my part in taking care of my body and making sure I can play and be ready.”

Paul said that because of his ambitious nature, he can’t be conceed with how his legs might feel come time for the postseason.

“Yeah, a lot of times it is hard to see down the road, because I’m all about like right now,” he said. “Every game, we’re trying to win. So I guess I’ll worry about that when we get to it.”

As for any rest, well, that only comes when he does what everyone else does.

“Yeah, at night I go to sleep,” he said. “That’s about it.”

DJ has Griffin’s back

When Blake Griffin met with reporters Tuesday, he talked quite a bit about the Jan. 23 incident in Toronto, when he sustained a fractured right hand by punching team equipment staffer Matias Testi. Griffin said he has received unending support from everyone involved with the Clippers.

“All of my teammates and everybody that I have talked to in the organization have been so positive and so helpful for me,” Griffin said. “Talking to each one, and apologizing to them, the theme has been that everybody makes mistakes. We have all done things we regret. Everybody has just said, ‘Get back healthy and come back and join us.’ “

Teammate DeAndre Jordan was at the restaurant when the row unfolded between Griffin and Testi. Jordan said it’s in the past.

“It was behind me a long time ago,” he said.

Griffin and Testi were both at Thursday’s game.

This and that

Shooting guard J.J. Redick made the 1,000th 3-point basket of his career with 4:46 remaining in overtime of the Clippers’ loss at Boston on Feb. 10. Redick is one of 26 active players to reach that milestone, and the 84th in history. ... The Clippers (35-18 before Thursday) will next host the Golden State Warriors on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. at Staples Center. The Warriors have defeated the Clippers 112-108 on Nov. 4 at Golden State and 124-117 on Nov. 19 at Staples Center. ... The Clippers continue this four-game homestand Monday against Phoenix and finish it Wednesday against Denver.

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It was a day Kyle Davis would like to forget.

The USC pitcher was at a charity event playing basketball with kids last winter when he tweaked his ankle. Senior outfielder Timmy Robinson helped him off the court.

Robinson later discovered that it wasn’t a great day for him, either.

“It was just a bad day,” Davis said. “I got hurt, Tim lost his wallet, it’s a day that I really get upset about. So I remember it pretty good.”

Davis had let it be known he wanted a spot in the rotation, and after a strong end to his 2014 season, he was in line for that position. But it was more than just a tweak of the ankle. It not only cost him a spot in the rotation, it led to a groin injury later on.

“Last year was a tough year for me personally,” Davis said. “It was awesome for the team and it was great that we finally got back to a regional, but for me it was tough going through the injury. Knowing I would start opening day, being the Friday guy, and then getting injured, that was a little tough.”

Davis, now a senior with a four-pitch mix, will finally get that spot in the weekend rotation. The right-hander will headline a deep group of pitchers as the ace in Troy.

“We feel he’s our best pitcher,” third-year USC coach Dan Hubbs said. “We feel he’s the guy that we want on the mound to kind of set the tone for the weekend. He would have been that guy last year as well, but he had those nagging things with his ankle and his groin. Now, he’s 100 percent ready to go and he’s pitching excellent.”

• WHICKER: USC baseball is on the rise again, thanks to Dan Hubbs

With a veteran group of pitchers back, including senior closer Marc Huberman, senior right-hander Brooks Kriske and junior left-hander Beardo Flores, the Trojans are solid on the mound.

But with the loss of three of their top offensive producers, there are still questions in the lineup. Hubbs isn’t looking to specific players to answer those questions as much as he’s looking to the entire group to step up and fill the void.

“We did lose Bobby Stahel and Garrett Stubbs and Dante Flores and Blake Lacey and Kyle Twomey and Tyler Gilbert,” Hubbs said. “A lot of guys who played some big roles for us. No one person can say, ‘I need to replace those numbers.’ Everyone just needs to get incrementally better. And I think they have.”

Hubbs points to the improvement of senior outfielder Timmy Robinson, who got hot in the middle of last season and never cooled down.

“He was trying to show that he could hit for power, he was trying to do a lot more and he started to understand what his strength is,” Hubbs said. “When he started to use his legs a little more and he started using a little less effort in his swing — when he realized he wasn’t getting the results he wanted with a little more effort — the ball started really coming off of his bat.”

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Robinson finished the season batting .295 with seven home runs and a team-leading 53 RBIs. He’s hoping a more relaxed approach at the plate will help boost those numbers this season.

“Just working with the coaches on staying loose,” Robinson said. “It’s in there, but I try to do too much sometimes. I just tried to relax and have fun with it.”

Fun was’t necessarily a word associated with the Trojans until the past few years. Hubbs has effectively changed the culture after years of complacency. The former USC pitcher has forced the players to become accountable for themselves as well as one another. It has bolstered team chemistry and the results have showed on the field in the form of wins — 39 of them last year, to be exact.

“We’ve come a long way,” Robinson said. “We won 19 more games than my freshman year. We’ve seen each step throughout the years. Freshman year we were bad, sophomore year we just missed the cut and last year, finally got in. And now we want to take it to the next step and get to Omaha.”

USC, ranked as high as No. 17 in the preseason Baseball America poll, has a longstanding tradition at the College World Series. While it might have gone dormant for a while, the Trojans feel that they could be headed back to Omaha.

At the very least, they’re finally headed in the right direction again.

“The kids seem to like coming to the field all of the time,” Hubbs said. “Everybody is willing to do what it takes and that was what I wanted when I took over.”

2016 USC Trojans baseball preview

Last season: 39-21

Pac-12 finish: 18-12 (3rd)

Postseason finish: Lost in NCAA Regionals

Coach: Dan Hubbs (3rd season, 88-81)

Ballpark: Dedeaux Field, 1027 W 34th St., Los Angeles, CA 90089 (2,500 capacity)

Big losses: OF Bobby Stahel, C Garrett Stubbs, 2B Dante Flores, LHP Kyle Twomey

Key retuers: OF/DH Timmy Robinson, SS Reggie Southall, RHP Kyle Davis, LHP Marc Huberman, LHP Beardo Flores

Top newcomers: 1B Dylan Paulson, C/RHP C.J. Stubbs

Coach’s quote: “The thing is, they say winning is contagious and hitting is contagious, and it is,” Hubbs said. “But so is losing. When you get complacent about losing, when it becomes OK, you have that mindset like ‘Hey, it’s just one game.’ But that’s not OK. In my opinion, and where we got to (last year), is that every game should hurt.”

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Scooter Christensen of the Harlem Globetrotters absolutely nailed a 100-foot trick shot that you must see to believe.

Standing on the deck undeeath the Staples Center sign that faces Chick Hea Ct., Christensen took aim at a basket near the Magic Johnson statue and drilled the shot before belting out a huge scream.

• VIDEO: Watch incredible Harlem Globetrotter trick

The Globetrotters are in Souther Califoia this weekend to play five games in the L.A. area as part of their 90th year anniversary celebration, including two at the Staples Center on Sunday. The team is also playing two games Saturday at the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario and another one Monday at Saddleback Collegein Mission Viejo.

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A 27-year-old bartender from Palos Verdes Estates was charged Thursday with punching a New York Mets fan in the Dodger Stadium parking lot, knocking him unconscious and causing him to hit his head on the ground, authorities said.

Michael Rae Papayans, who also was arrested along with Backstreet Boy Nick Carter during a January fight in a Key West, Florida, bar, could face up to seven years in prison if convicted of the Dodger Stadium attack Oct. 9.

The confrontation in Lot L occurred shortly after the Mets beat the Dodgers 2-1 in Game 1 of the National League Division Series. According to prosecutors, Papayans’ mother allegedly confronted four Mets fans walking to their car. One man in the group was wearing Mets attire.

“The woman allegedly yelled epithets shortly before her son, Michael Rae Papayans, joined in a verbal dispute with the group,” the District Attoey’s Office said in a statement. “The dispute escalated when the son allegedly punched a 50-year-old male in the head, knocking him unconscious. As the victim fell to the ground, he hit his head on the pavement, causing him to sustain serious head injuries.”

Papayans’ mother allegedly then kicked the man in the back while he was on the ground.

Four days later, Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck asked for the public’s help in finding the assailants.

“We believe it is a son and mother who are responsible for this assault,” he said.

An investigation by LAPD robbery-assault detectives led to Papayans, who was taken into custody Feb. 11. He was released on bail the following day. Prosecutors charged Papayans with one felony count of assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury with an allegation that he caused great bodily injury. He is scheduled to be arraigned March 11 in downtown Los Angeles. Prosecutors will ask a judge to set bail at $60,000.

The mother’s case was referred to the Los Angeles City Attoey’s Office for possible misdemeanor charges.

Calls to the Papayans residence on Paseo del Mar were not retued.

According to social media posts, Papayans appears to be engaged to Carter’s sister-in-law, Alexandra Kitt. He proposed to her on Christmas Day.

Carter and Papayans were arrested in January when a fight erupted at the Hogs Breath bar in Key West. A police report said Papayans had blood on his hands, face and knees.

According to the report, the two men entered the bar heavily intoxicated. One bartender refused to serve them.

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Carter and Papayans became agitated and aggressive toward the bartender, prompting bouncers to tell them to leave. Carter allegedly tried to choke a bouncer and Papayans struck a bouncer on the chin with his head, the police report said.

Papayans was captured on a police bodycam video saying, “I did not do anything. I was trying to get my friend to stop and they tackled me like they were f---ing Navy SEALs or something.” The video was posted on celebrity website TMZ.

Papayans played baseball when he was a student at Palos Verdes High School and Rolling Hills Prep in San Pedro.

The attack was reminiscent of the March 31, 2011, assault of San Francisco Giants fan Bryan Stow, who suffered permanent brain damage following an attack in the Dodger Stadium parking lot.

Two men pleaded guilty to attacking Stow and were sentenced to state prison. The prosecutor on that case, Deputy District Attoey Michele Hanisee, was assigned to the Papayans case.

The Stowe attack raised questions about security at Dodger Stadium. Stow sued the team and was awarded $18 million.

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The last time UCLA converted an infielder into a catcher it tued out pretty well. Shane Zeile came to Westwood never having caught a game in high school and when he was done with his three-year career, he was a power-hitting catcher drafted in the fifth round.

The defending Pac-12 champion Bruins are hoping to find similar success with freshman Jake Hirabayashi, a freshman out of Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks.

Catching is the biggest area of conce as the Bruins open the 2016 season.

UCLA, ranked as high as No. 9 in the preseason polls, lost seven players from last season but reloaded with one of the best freshman classes in the country and boasts a solid veteran core.

However, with the recent news that Darrell Miller Jr. will miss the season with a shoulder injury and the early departure of Mike Benson, the Bruins are thin behind the plate.

“It’s unsettling, I guess you could say,” UCLA head coach John Savage said. “The biggest question that we have is clearly catching.”

Hirabayashi was primarily an infielder during his standout prep career but began the conversion by catching in summer ball, playing in the West Coast League. Rosica, a redshirt freshman, was brought in as a bullpen catcher but may now be pressed into service.

“They’re both athletic guys,” Savage said. “Rosica has been in our system for a year so he has a lot of trust and knowledge there. Hirabayashi is a talented guy but he caught no games in high school, he was a third baseman.”

Where the Bruins aren’t thin is on the mound. Each pitcher fits into predetermined roles and has specific jobs and innings to lock down, much like a pro-style pitching staff. It’s a system the Bruins have found success with in recent years and they have the personnel in place.

All-conference reliever Grant Dyer (4-2, 1.83 ERA in 2015) will move from the set-up position to the starter on Friday nights. Dyer’s fastball touches the low-90s and his curveball and changeup have improved. A junior right-hander, he’s eaed the trust of his team over the past two seasons. Sophomore Griffin Canning and freshman Kyle Molnar, both righties, will round out the weekend rotation.

UCLA has become known for its bullpen depth and it’s no different this year. Redshirt junior right-hander Tucker Forbes, who was recently named to the Stopper of the Year watch list, will be handed the ball in the eighth inning. Freshman Brian Gadsby is slated to replace David Berg in the closer role.

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Savage says Gadsby, a right-hander out of Crescenta Valley High, is a “clone of Berg” with an unconventional delivery from multiple arm angles.

“A lot of different arm actions and really tough on right-handers,” Savage said. “We really think he’s going to be able to handle that work load.”

With the departures of key veterans to graduation and draft, the left side of the field is a conce for the Bruins at the moment. It will be less conceing once shortstop Nick Valaika, brother of former UCLA shortstop Pat Valaika, retus March 1 from hamate bone surgery.

Outfielder Eric Filia, a key player in UCLA’s 2013 College World Series run, will retu this year after a two-year absence. Filia missed the 2014 season after undergoing shoulder surgery and was suspended by the school for the 2014-2015 academic year after plagiarizing a quote in a philosophy paper.

A left-handed power bat, Filia put up big numbers in the Northwoods League over the summer, hitting .340 with a league-leading 55 RBIs, and has improved not only his plate discipline but his personal discipline.

“I see a different persona,” Savage said. “He couldn’t get out of his own way. I see a much more mature player off the field and on the field, I also see a different player. This guy, I think, is in for a huge year.”

Filia had to watch from the sidelines as the Bruins failed to defend their national title in 2014 and was away from the team completely in 2015. He’s done watching and ready to right his wrongs in his senior season.

“I leaed a lot from the mistake that I made,” Filia said. “To put so much work into something and have it taken all away, it was really hard. But I tried to stay positive. I knew that coming back, I was going to make the best of this opportunity that Coach Savage gave me.”

2016 UCLA Bruins baseball preview

Last season: 45-16

Pac-12 finish: 22-8 (1st)

Postseason finish: Lost in NCAA Regionals

Coach: John Savage (9th season, 414-161-1)

Ballpark: Jackie Robinson Stadium, 100 Constitution Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90095 (1,820 capacity)

Big losses: OF Ty Moore, SS Ty Moore, RHP David Berg, RHP James Kaprielian, C Darrell Miller Jr. (injury)

Key retuers: OF Eric Filia, 2B/SS Trent Chatterton, RHP Grant Dyer, RHP Tucker Forbes

Top newcomers: RHP Brian Gadsby, OF Daniel Amaral, RHP Kyle Molnar

Coach’s quote: “Major innings gone and major at-bats gone, but at the same time, we feel pretty good about what we’ve seen,” Savage said. “We’re much stronger, physically, we’re running better, our depth in the outfield kind of reminds me of our 2010 team, it’s that dynamic and athletic. Miller is a blow, so that’s a little bit of a conce, to say the least. But we have good young arms. It’s exciting, it’s just a little unsettling.”

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The Lakers may have an endless to-do list in revamping their rosterm, but the Lakers passed on fixing any of those issues before Thursday’s trade deadline.

The Lakers’ decision to stand pat stems from the variables that could make it easier to rebuild their roster during the offseason. Then, the Lakers (11-44) will have more cap space because of Kobe Bryant’s pending retirement. If the ping pong balls bounce in the Lakers’ favor, they could also have a top-3 draft pick.

The Lakers wanted to hold onto their young core of players that included D’Angelo Russell, Julius Randle, Jordan Clarkson, Larry Nance Jr. and Anthony Brown because of their talent and long-term potential. The Lakers have several veterans available on expiring contracts (Roy Hibbert, Ryan Kelly, Robert Sacre, Metta World Peace, Marcelo Huertas) or on reasonable deals (Lou Williams, Nick Young and Brandon Bass). But none of those pieces attracted much interest.

Any potential deal became more complicated because the Lakers did not want to accept anything that could compromise their cap space or disrupt their young core’s development for the remaining 27 games. Most NBA teams have also held draft picks in higher regard because of the potential to land a promising young player, as well as the stricter spending limitations in the league’s labor deal constructed five years ago.

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The Clippers have traded Lance Stephenson and a future first-round pick to the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for Jeff Green.

The deal, first reported by ESPN, gives the Clippers a forward to help fill the void left by Blake Griffin’s hand injury.

Stephenson, a 25-year-old 6-foot-5 shooting guard, was signed in the off-season for his tantalizing potential. His minutes, however, dwindled as the season progressed. Stephenson averaged 4.7 points and 2.5 rebounds in 43 games, though he did play 24 minutes on Feb. 10 — his highest playing time since Dec. 2 — and scored 12 points.

Green, 29, was in his second season with the Grizzlies after three years in each Oklahoma City and Boston.

The 6-9 forward is averaging 12.2 points and 4.5 rebounds, but in his past eight games averaged 19.9 points a game.

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LONG BEACH >> After the Millikan boys basketball team saw its lead slip away late against Upland in a first-round CIF-SS Division 1AA playoff game, it looked like the Rams were headed for heartbreak.

But senior Mason Dickerson stepped up when his team needed him to, hitting a trio of 3-pointers in the fourth quarter. The last of those shots gave Millikan a one-point lead with just over a minute left.

A late Millikan tuover opened the door for Upland, who tied it up with 7 seconds in the game.

The Rams and junior standout Ofure Ujadughele took over again in overtime to pull out a dramatic 65-60 victory.

“Man I don’t even know what to say,” said Rams coach Chris Francis. “That’s playoff basketball — two teams who don’t know each other, you’ve got to play 32 minutes. Sometimes you’ve got to play 36 minutes.”

The Rams led 26-15 in the second quarter and 43-40 early in the fourth. But the Highlanders caught fire from behind the arc and jumped out to a 53-48 lead with less than two minutes in the game.

That’s when Dickerson, a Cal Poly Pomona signee, stepped up. He drained one 3-pointer to pull his team within one, then another deep one to give them a 55-54 lead. The senior had 11 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter.

It was Ujadughele who left his fingerprints all over the extra period though, as he scored six straight points to put Millikan up 64-60 late in overtime. Ujadughele led the way with 23 points.

“O is playing on a sprained ankle,” said Francis. “He stepped up big. And Mason, I keep challenging him and tonight he really stepped up. He showed why he’s a senior who eaed his scholarship tonight.”

The Rams will travel to either Corona Santiago or Great Oak on Friday evening for a second-round game.

ST. JOHN BOSCO 60, PACIFICA 32 >> In other Division 1AA first-round action, JJ Watson scored 13 points and Alpha Okoli added 12 points as the Braves (18-9) advanced to face Knight in the second round.

JORDAN 63, ALISO NIGUEL 47 >> The Panthers (15-12) got an impressive win on the road and will host Rancho Verde on Friday night.

KNIGHT 68, LAKEWOOD 65 >> The Lancers (12-16) put up a great fight on the road but fell in Palmdale.

J.W. NORTH 65, WILSON 24 >> The Huskies (22-4) easily dispatched the Bruins (5-24) in the first round.

DOWNEY 73, MONTCLAIR 39 >> It was never close as the Vikings (19-9) grabbed a victory on the road and will take on San Clemente in the second round.

SANTA MONICA 74, CABRILLO 59 >> In Division 1A action, the Vikings (25-2) scored 30 points in the fourth quarter to put the Jaguars (10-15) away.

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— JJ Fiddler contributed to this report

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As up-and-down as this season has been, UCLA still has a shot at March Madness.

It won’t be easy, not with the Bruins (14-11, 5-7) hovering near the bottom of the Pac-12. Common wisdom dictates that a team needs 20 regular-season wins to ea a spot in the NCAA Touament. Last year, UCLA got there with 19. And, according to kenpom.com, the team has at least a 60 percent chance of winning four of its last six games — with matchups at Stanford and against No. 16 Oregon essentially slotted as coin flips.

Heading into Thursday’s 7 p.m. home tipoff against Utah, here’s a look at what the Bruins need to do to feel a little safer on Selection Sunday.

Motivation tactics

Even Steve Alford admits he’s had a bit of a leaing curve this season.

As far as motivation goes, it’s taken him time to figure out how to best push his team’s buttons. Recently, that’s meant fewer references to the big picture, one that has the team sitting uncomfortably outside almost every NCAA Touament projection. With just three weeks left in the season, the third-year head coach said his latest group of players has not responded as well to pressure as their predecessors.

“That’s been me, not them,” he added. “Anytime I’ve applied a little bit of that mental pressure, we haven’t handled it well. It’s leaing your team. Last year’s team handled that really well.”

After starting 2016 with back-to-back losses at Washington and Washington State, the Bruins have yet to move above .500 at any point in conference play. If that trend holds, it will be a first for the program since the league expanded to 10 teams in 1978.

But that’s exactly the sort of thing that Alford doesn’t want his team to think about. A year ago, stressing urgency worked for UCLA, something that the coach attributed in part to the presence of senior guard Norman Powell.

This season, the staff has leaed that it’s better to steer the team’s focus in a different way. One difference is by integrating “three keys” for each game, so as to keep the Bruins from getting overloaded with information during game-week preparation.

“The way we respond to things, I think, is a little bit different,” said junior point guard Bryce Alford. “I think we’ve done a better job when our coaches give us a one-game scenario.”

Jonah Bolden’s growth

By mid-February, most teams have settled in with comfortable rhythms, with all their flaws and strengths.

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That may not be the case for UCLA. The Bruins’ new starting five has only been deployed in four games, and the key difference — sophomore Jonah Bolden — is coming off a career performance. The 6-foot-10 forward has become the team’s starting power forward, giving the Bruins more versatility than when senior Tony Parker played next to 7-footer Thomas Welsh in a dual-center lineup.

Although the impetus for the change was defense, Bolden has also shown signs of an offensive breakthrough. After spending most of the season as a non-factor on that end of the floor, he has shot 11 of 18 in his past two games for 26 points, accounting for nearly a quarter of his season total.

“When we were big-big, we were messing around with Jonah at the four spot and the three spot,” Steve Alford said. “I think that was hard on him.”

Added Bolden: “It’s worked out the way it’s supposed to work out.”

Late impressions

Perhaps the best news for UCLA is that it still has enough time to fix perception.

The Pac-12 doesn’t have a dominant power this season, but it might have more depth than any other conference in the country. Five of the Bruins’ last six opponents rank top 50 in RPI, which means there’s still time for them to make up ground. The NCAA touament selection committee showed last year that it will weigh the final few weekends of the season more heavily, giving UCLA a surprising No. 11 seed due in part to a strong effort in its Pac-12 Touament loss to Arizona.

The Bruins also can look elsewhere in the league for inspiration. Last season, Oregon was just 4-4 in conference play, then won nine of their next 10. The Ducks then eaed a spot in the conference championship game, and eaed a No. 8 seed in March Madness.

If UCLA can get through the rest of its slate with just one or two more losses, its brand name should help push it toward the right side of the bubble.

“We’ve got six games that we believe that we can win,” said Bryce Alford. “And we know that we can play with anybody in the country when we play well. ... We’re a very positive group and a very confident group for the rest of the season.”

***

UCLA (14-11, 5-7) vs. Utah (19-7, 8-5)

Thursday, Feb. 18, 7 p.m., Pauley Pavilion

TV: ESPN2 (Dave Pasch, Bill Walton)

Radio: AM 570 (Bill Roth, Darrick Martin)

• UCLA is 4-2 against the Utes since the latter joined the Pac-12 before the 2011-12 season. The Bruins won the last two meetings at Pauley Pavilion by double digits — two victories that sandwiched a 32-point loss in Salt Lake City on Jan. 4, 2015.

• Utah center Jakob Poeltl ranks second in the conference with 17.8 points per game, and shoots a league-best 67.1 percent from the field. “At least in the Pac-12, especially offensively, I don’t think we’ve seen anybody this good,” Steve Alford said.

• Against Pac-12 opponents, UCLA point guard Bryce Alford is shooting 26.8 percent on the road, but 50.0 percent at home. The Bruins play four of their last six regular-season games in Westwood.

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USC’s perfect home record was in jeopardy Wednesday night as Colorado led by 15 points with nine minutes left.

But the Trojans emerged from their funk and relied on guards Jordan McLaughlin and Julian Jacobs to lead a scoring spree that saw USC defeat Colorado, 79-72, before 5,132 at the Galen Center.

USC outscored Colorado, 34-12, the final nine minutes and improved its home record to 15-0, the best start in school history.

“I think we just fear losing,” Jacobs said. “It’s an awful feeling. The next day at practice is depressing. We didn’t want to go through that.”

USC coaches and players labeled the game a “must-win” despite the fact USC has five more conference games and the Pacific-12 Touament.

“We’re fighting to get into the NCAA Touament,” USC assistant coach Tony Bland said.

But the Trojans are currently safely among the teams projected for the NCAA Touament. USC is currently a No. 7 seed in ESPN expert Joe Lunardi’s NCAA Touament bracket. The Trojans are a No. 6 seed in CBS Sports’ guru Jerry Palm’s field of 64 teams.

McLaughlin scored seven straight points to tu the game around. He tied it, 65-65, with 3:30 left and then gave USC a 68-65 lead on a 3-pointer. With 2:49 remaining he hit another shot to extend the advantage to 70-65.

“I was just going with the flow of the game,” McLaughlin said.

McLaughlin scored a career-high 25 points while Jacobs finished with 17.

Prior to that it looked like Colorado (19-8, 8-6) might rout the Trojans (19-7, 8-5).

Josh Fortune’s 3-pointer made it 58-45 with 9:35 remaining and Wesley Gordon added a short jumper to make it 60-45 with 8:56, the largest lead until that point.

Despite the fact Colorado’s top player, Josh Scott, did not start because of a sore ankle, the Buffaloes dominated the Trojans under the basket. Colorado outrebounded USC, 23-11, in the first half and had six offensive rebounds to USC’s one.

With 12 minutes left in the game, Colorado outrebounded USC, 29-12.

Colorado’s starting lineup was actually shorter than USC, with two 6-foot-9 forwards (Wesley Gordon, Tory Miller) going against USC’s Nikola Jovanovic (6-11) and Bennie Boatwright (6-10). But things quickly changed when the 6-10 Scott entered the game. He had eight rebounds and eight points in the first half.

Scott finished with 17 points coming off the bench while Gordon and George King each scored 13.

Colorado took a 37-29 halftime lead by holding the Trojans to 37 percent shooting. USC made only two of nine 3-point shots and McLaughlin was the only player in double figures with 10 points.

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Notes

Nicholas Brill, who runs the Boston-based search firm conducting the search for an athletic director, attended the game with USC president Max Nikias. Brill was conducting business for other job searches at USC on Wednesday.

Nikias said he expects more than 200 applicants for the job and that it could take “several months” before an athletic director is hired. USC athletic director Pat Haden did not attend the game but watched on TV according to Nikias.

USC is off for three days before hosting Utah on Sunday at 3 p.m. at the Galen Center.

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