San Jose State didn’t make things easy on Colorado State Wednesday night in the Mountain West Conference Tournament opener. But the Rams’ late surge produced a 72-62 win over the Spartans in Las Vegas.

Joel Scott had 18 points for seventh-seeded Colorado State, which will play No. 2 seed Nevada today in the quarterfinals.

The loss was the sixth straight for the Spartans, who were tied with four minutes left in the game before falling. Colorado State (23-9) took the lead for good with 3:59 remaining in the second half on a layup from Patrick Cartier to make it 58-56.

The Spartans (9-23) were led in scoring by Alvaro Cardenas, who finished with 18 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Myron Amey Jr. added 17 points and two steals for San Jose State.

San Jose State’s Latrell Davis had 16 points, the most points scored by a Spartans freshman in a conference tournament game since Omari Moore’s 17 against New Mexico in 2020.

Scott also added six rebounds for the Rams (23-9). Joe Palmer scored 14 points while shooting 5 for 6, including 4 for 5 from beyond the arc. Isaiah Stevens had 11 points and went 4 of 11 from the field.

Andrews leads UCLA past Oregon state >> Dylan Andrews made seven 3-pointers and scored 31 points — both career-highs — to help No. 5 UCLA beat No. 12 Oregon State 67-57 in the first round of the Pac-12 Conference Tournament in Las Vegas

UCLA (16-16) advances to play No. 4 seed Oregon in the quarterfinals today. The Bruins split the regular-season series with the Ducks, losing 64-59 on the road before a 71-63 win at home.

The Bruins, who entered at 33% from behind the arc this season, were 9 of 15 from 3-point range — and just 10 of 16 at the free-throw line.

Jordan Pope led Oregon State (13-19) with 16 points. Akanno had 14 points and Tyler Bilodeau added 13.

USC downs Washington, gets Arizona next >> Boogie Ellis scored 25 points to eclipse 2,000 for his career and ninth-seeded USC survived two late turnovers to pull out an 80-74 win over eighth-seeded Washington in the opening game of the Pac-12 Tournament.

The Trojans face league champion and fifth-ranked Arizona in today’s quarterfinals.

Bronny James iced the game for USC with two free throws at 8.9 seconds.

Johnson had 14 points with eight rebounds and Collier 13 with seven assists for the Trojans (15-17), who have won four in a row overall and eight straight in the series.

Wheeler scored 20 points with seven assists to lead Washington (17-15) in what could have been coach Mike Hopkins’ last game. Hopkins was told after the final regular season game he would not be back for an eighth season.

Kansas State upsets Texas in Big 12 tourney >> Tylor Perry scored 21 points, making four pressure-filled free throws down the stretch, and No. 10 seed Kansas State rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit to beat seventh-seeded Texas 78-74 in the Big 12 Tournament.

Arthur Kaluma added 14 points for the Wildcats (19-13), who gave their flickering NCAA Tournament hopes a big boost by following their upset of sixth-ranked Iowa State to end the regular season with a win over the Longhorns.

Now, they get another shot at the Cyclones — the No. 2 seed in the tournament — in the quarterfinals today.

Tennis

Navarro beats Sabalenka in 3 sets >> Emma Navarro beat second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 in the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells for the biggest win of the young American’s career.

Navarro improved to 18-5 this year, with her victories leading the WTA Tour. She is 11-2 in three-set matches. The 2021 NCAA singles champion from Virginia reached her fourth quarterfinal of the year and first at the 1000 level.

Sabalenka, the Australian Open champion, trailed 1-4 in the third set and won just one more game before getting broken on Navarro’s second match point.

Coco Gauff celebrated her 20th birthday with a 6-0, 6-2 win in just over an hour against Elise Mertens to reach the quarters for the second consecutive year in the Southern California desert.

On the men’s side, fourth-seeded Daniil Medvedev had just eight winners in a 6-4, 6-4 win over 13th-seeded Grigor Dimitrov. Medvedev held at love to close out the match.

No. 9 seed Casper Ruud rallied to beat Gael Monfils 3-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4.

Luca Nardi of Italy wasn’t able to follow up his huge win over top-ranked Novak Djokovic, losing to 17th-seeded Tommy Paul, 6-4, 6-3.

Sled dog racing

Seavey wins 6th Iditarod championship >> Dallas Seavey overcame killing a moose and receiving a time penalty to win the Iditarod in Anchorage, Alaska, a record-breaking sixth championship in the world’s most famous sled dog race.

Seavey drove his team a half-block off the Bering Sea ice onto the frozen streets of Nome to cross under the famed burled arch finish line, a triumphant moment in a race marred by the death of three sled dogs, including two on Sunday, and serious injury to another.

The deaths prompted one animal rights organization to renew its call for the end of the storied endurance race in which a team of dogs pulls a sled across 1,000 miles (1,609-kilometers) of Alaska wilderness.

College football

Alberts leaves Nebraska for Texas A&M job >> Texas A&M has hired Nebraska’s Trev Alberts to replace Ross Bjork as its athletic director, the school announced.

Alberts, a former football star with the Cornhuskers, had been athletic director at Nebraska for just short of three years. He leaves after overseeing the construction and planning for massive football facilities projects in Lincoln.