Arizona Inspires Victory : College basketball: Payton can’t find motivation and Oregon State loses, 87-60. Teams share Pac-10 title.

Gary Payton’s apparent indifference didn’t decide Saturday’s game at the McKale Center, but it clearly helped Arizona to an 87-60 victory over Oregon State.

The victory gave Arizona a share of the Pacific 10 Conference championship with the Beavers, but that did not concern Payton, Oregon State’s All-American point guard.

After Oregon State beat Arizona State Thursday night at Tempe, Ariz., clinching at least a share of its first Pac-10 title since 1984, Payton told reporters: “It’s over. We can relax and kick back.”

Saturday, an uninspired Payton scored five points, failing to reach double figures for the first time in 51 games. He was sent to the bench with 6:33 to play and the Beavers trailing by 28 points.

Payton’s output was almost 22 points below his season average and his fewest points since the 22nd game of his sophomore season, two years ago. In that game, he had scored points but had 12 assists as the Beavers beat Washington State, 62-48.

Against Arizona, which earned a share of its third consecutive Pac-10 title and fourth in five years, Payton had only five assists and made a season-low two of eight shots.

He hadn’t attempted so few shots since that Washington State game two years ago and has made fewer once in 118 games at Oregon State.

“I just wasn’t into it,” Payton said. “I can’t give an explanation. I just wasn’t into it. It wasn’t like I was trying my hardest. I don’t think I was.

“There wasn’t any motivation. They had something to prove. I don’t think we had nothing to prove.”

Arizona, winning its 47th consecutive home game, ended the regular season with a 21-6 record. The Wildcats, 15-3 in conference games, are favorites to win the Pac-10 tournament next weekend at Arizona State.

“They’ve been the favorite in my mind since the start of the season,” said Oregon State Coach Jim Anderson, whose team is 22-5.

But three months ago at Corvallis, Ore., Arizona was beaten by Oregon State, 84-61, on a day when Payton had 25 points and seven assists. That left the Wildcats winless in two conference games, including a loss two nights earlier at Oregon.

Since then, however, Arizona has dominated the Pac-10--losing only at UCLA and winning its last 11 conference games. In the second half of the Pac-10 race, Arizona’s average margin of victory was more than 21 points.

No conference team made more than 47.6% of its shots against the Wildcats, who limited their Pac-10 opponents to 40.2% shooting.

“It means an awful lot, given the fact that we were six feet in the ground with dirt thrown on us (after) the first weekend,” Arizona Coach Lute Olson said. “The amazing thing with these guys is that, despite their youth, they lived with that kind of pressure.

“We told them after that trip (to Oregon) that they probably couldn’t lose again. So, they faced the entire league schedule with that on their back. On the other hand, I think that toughened them for the big games.”

Junior guard Matt Muehlebach led Arizona with 21 points, making five of nine three-point shots. Freshman Ed Stokes, who has averaged 12.2 points and 5.9 rebounds in 11 games as the Wildcats’ starting center, had 12 points and seven rebounds, making five of seven shots. Sean Rooks had 13 points and 11 rebounds in a substitute’s role.

Point guard Matt Othick, upstaging Payton, had 13 points, 10 assists and no turnovers, and made all four of his three-point shots.

“They just wore us down and beat us up,” Anderson said. “And then when we tried to go inside to give a little help, it opened the perimeter and Othick was almost magic out there. He was certainly a big factor.”

So was Payton’s nonchalance.

“The guy can really play basketball,” Arizona’s Jud Buechler said of Payton. “But he didn’t care about this game and his attitude affected the other guys on the team. They were satisfied with being co-champions.”

In the end, so was Arizona.