1Pac-10 Roundup : Oregon State Wins, 53-51, Over Oregon

Freshman guard Eric Knox hit two free throws with 18 seconds left to give Oregon State a 53-51 Pacific 10 Conference victory over Oregon Saturday at McArthur Court in Eugene, Ore.

The victory left the Beavers (7-3) in the thick of the title race behind first-place USC (9-2).

Seven-foot Oregon center Blair Rasmussen was high scorer with 21 points. Rasmussen’s four straight baskets brought Oregon from a 37-31 deficit to a 39-37 lead with 8:52 to play and set the stage for Knox’s closing heroics.

Oregon State was led by forward A.C. Green, who had 19 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. It was Oregon State’s 14th straight victory in the series.

Arizona 66, California 48--Eddie Smith scored 14 points, and Craig McMillan came off the bench to trigger a decisive second-half surge for the Wildcats at Tucson.

Arizona, ahead by 24-19 at halftime, outscored Cal 18-6 immediately after intermission and went on to its fifth straight victory. McMillan, who scored all 10 of his points in the second half, hit a jumper to cap the run for a 42-27 Arizona lead with 10:45 remaining.

Leonard Taylor scored 15 points to lead Cal, which is 11-10 overall and 3-8 in Pac-10 play.

Arizona State 91, Stanford 75--Steve Beck and Eric Holloway scored 20 points each at Tempe, Ariz., as the Sun Devils raised their Pac-10 record to 6-5 and their overall mark to 11-10.

Ron Singleton’s jumper and Bobby Thompson’s three-point play with four minutes remaining in the first half gave Arizona State a 31-26 lead en route to a 39-34 edge at halftime.

The Cardinal cut the deficit to 64-55 on Greg Butler’s layin with 8:23 to go in the game, but Beck hit consecutive jumpers, then scored six straight points in a 2:02 span to give Arizona State an 84-67 lead with 1:58 left.

Stanford, losing its fourth straight game, fell to 10-11 overall and 2-9 in the conference despite 16 points from Novian Whitsitt.