PACIFIC 10 ROUNDUP : Stanford Can’t Figure Out How to Stop Payton

Gary Payton scored 32 points and had 10 assists, seven rebounds and five steals to lead No. 21 Oregon State past Stanford, 84-70, Saturday in a Pacific 10 Conference game at Corvallis, Ore.

Oregon State (17-3, 10-1 in the Pac-10) never trailed after the opening five minutes in sending Stanford (12-7, 4-6) to its fourth consecutive loss.

Payton scored 21 points in the first half and led a Beaver defense that forced 14 Cardinal turnovers as Oregon State took a 47-29 halftime lead. It was 54-31 two minutes into the second half as Earl Martin scored seven points in a row. Martin finished with 22.

“Gary was magnificent in the first half,” said Oregon State Coach Jim Anderson said. “He started to take over early in the half and our defensive intensity picked up and we broke it open.”

The Cardinal, led by the inside play of Adam Keefe and Andrew Vlahov, narrowed the lead to 62-50 with 11 minutes left. That’s when Payton took control again, scoring eight points and assisting on two other baskets, and the Beavers pulled away to an 82-62 lead with 2:22 remaining.

“As far as I’m concerned, I hope I never see that guy again,” said Stanford Coach Mike Montgomery. “I’m tired of him getting 30 against us.”

Payton scored 36 points four weeks ago in leading the Beavers to a 77-76 overtime victory at Stanford.

No. 24 Arizona 75, Washington 60--Jud Buechler scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half to help the Wildcats break away from the Huskies at Seattle.

The Wildcats (14-4, 8-3) trailed by nine points in the first half, but led, 28-27, at halftime. Buechler made three three-point shots in the second half to help loosen up Washington’s sagging defense, which troubled the taller Wildcats in the first half.

Arizona dominated the second half with Buechler’s shooting and its inside game. Brian Williams scored on an eight-footer and a dunk in the first 2:11 as the Wildcats scored six of the first eight points for a 34-29 lead to set the tone for the rest of the game. With the score 39-33, the Wildcats scored 10 in a row and led by 16 with 11:07 left.

Washington (9-11, 3-8) cut into Arizona’s lead with a 6-0 run but Buechler made two three-point baskets to give the Wildcats a 55-39 lead.

The Huskies tried to beat the Wildcats with deliberate play, but committed 14 of their 19 turnovers in the second half.

Guard Eldridge Recasner led Washington with 15 points.