Pac-12 basketball: Washington holds off Oregon’s late rally for 61-56 win

Jaylen Nowell scored 20 points, capped by three free throws with 1.6 seconds left, and Washington weathered a furious Oregon rally to escape 61-56 on Thursday night.

Nowell was fouled on a desperation 3-point try after Payton Pritchard lost the ball as the Ducks were trying to set up for a final shot with the score at 56-56. Pritchard then hit Nowell on the arm as he rose to shoot from about 30 feet.

Oregon’s last possession ended with Paul White throwing the length of the court out of bounds, and Matisse Thybulle added two more free throws for the final points.

David Crisp added 18 points and Noah Dickerson 11 for the Huskies (15-4, 6-0 Pac-12), who won their eighth consecutive game. It’s also Washington’s best start in conference play in 35 years.

Louis King had 19 points to lead the Ducks (11-8, 2-4), and Miles Norris added 10 off the bench. Oregon lost a fourth home game in Matthew Knight Arena for the first time since it opened in 2011.

Utah 70, at Stanford 66: Sedrick Barefield scored 12 of his team-high 18 points in the second half, including four free throws in the final 37 seconds, and Utah beat Stanford on Thursday night, its first win at Maples Pavilion as a member of the Pac-12.

Donnie Tillman added 11 points for the Utes (10-8, 4-2), who won their season-high third straight and four of six overall.

KZ Okpala scored 22 points to lead the Cardinal (9-10, 2-5), which lost its fifth out of the last seven. Daejon Davis added 17 points.

Colorado 68, at California 59: Lucas Siewert scored 18 points and Tyler Bey had 17 points and 14 rebounds as Colorado beat Cal 68-59 on Thursday night despite squandering all of an 18-point second-half lead.

Shane Gatling added 13 points for the Buffaloes (11-7, 2-4 Pac-12), who led 41-23 two minutes into the second half before watching the Bears rally to briefly lead with seven minutes left.

Colorado’s big lead disappeared after a flurry of Cal 3-pointers, including three by Darius McNeill and two by Matt Bradley.

Cal took a 54-53 lead on two free throws by Bradley with 7:04 left but Colorado answered with a 7-0 run to regain the lead for good.

The Bears (5-14, 0-7) lost their eighth game in a row and dropped their 14th straight Pac-12 regular-season game, dating back to last season.

at Oregon State 90, Washington State 77: Stephen Thompson Jr. had 22 points, with four 3-pointers, six rebounds and seven assists as Oregon State defeated Washington State 90-77 on Thursday night.

Tres Tinkle had 21 points and four steals and Ethan Thompson added 20 points and six assists for the Beavers (12-6, 4-2 Pac-12).

C.J. Elleby scored 21 points, all in the second half, and Robert Franks Jr. had 20 points and eight rebounds for the Cougars (8-11, 1-5).