San Jose State hit the Mountain West men’s basketball tournament running on Wednesday in Las Vegas.

The No. 8 seeded Spartans scored the first 12 points of the game and never trailed in a 66-61 win over No. 9 Wyoming at the Thomas & Mack Center. The Spartans had been 1-10 all-time in Mountain West tournament games since joining the conference 11 seasons ago, the lone victory an 81-77 overtime win over Nevada in the 2023 quarterfinals.

With the win over the Cowboys, SJSU (15-18) advances to the quarterfinals today against No. 1 seeded New Mexico.

San Jose State, which was led by Donavan Yap’s 19 points, defeated Wyoming (12-20) for the third straight time and led by as many as 22 points late in the first half.

North Carolina rolls past Notre Dame >> Jae’Lyn Withers scored 21 points — all on 3-pointers — and Ven-Allen Lubin had 17 points and 10 rebounds in North Carolina’s 76-56 rout of Notre Dame on the second day of the ACC Tournament Charlotte, N.C.

Women’s basketball

Smith signs extension to stay at Cal >> Charmin Smith, on the precipice of taking Cal to its first NCAA women’s basketball tournament berth since 2019, has signed to remain with the Bears through the 2029-30 season.

The Bears were projected in the ACC preseason poll to finish 14th in the league, but they finished seventh in their first year under the new banner and spent eight weeks in the AP Top 25 rankings. They were eliminated in the conference tournament last week by Notre Dame but are expected to receive a seeding between Nos. 6-8 in the 64-team NCAA Tournament.

Smith took over in Berkeley in 2019 after Lindsay Gottleib left following seven NCAA Tournament appearances in her eight seasons, including a Final Four in 2013.

Since going 1-16 in Smith’s second season, which was shortended by COVID, Cal has increased its win total each season, culminating with a 25-8 record so far this season.

-- Michael Nowels

MLB

Ex-Giant Strickland joins Rangers >> Reliever Hunter Strickland has agreed to a minor league deal with Texas and will report to the Rangers’ big league spring training camp.

The 36-year-old former Giant has pitched for eight teams during his 10-year big league career, most recently with the Angels last year. He went 3-2 with a 3.31 ERA in a team-leading 72 gaames.

Women’s soccer

Bay FC announces its 2025 roster >> Heading into its second season in the NWSL, Bay FC announced its roster ahead of its first match of the season. The club will open its season Saturday on the road against the Utah Royals at America First Field in Sandy, Utah at 4:30 p.m. PT.

Bay FC has 21 players returning from last season, joined by five new additions, including defender and two-time NWSL Championship title winner Kelli Hubly, All-American midfielders Hannah Bebar and Taylor Huff, and local product and Cal standout Karlie Lema.