Arizona Enjoys Visit to Oregon

Jason Gardner scored 21 points as No. 4 Arizona rallied to beat No. 9 Oregon, 81-72, Thursday night at Eugene, Ore., in a Pacific 10 Conference opener, ending the Ducks’ 23-game home winning streak.

With the score tied at 70-70, Gardner and Rick Anderson made consecutive three-point baskets to give the Wildcats (8-1) a 76-70 lead with 1:20 to go and Arizona led the rest of the way in ending a three-game losing streak at Eugene.

Anderson, who replaced injured forward Luke Walton, added 15 points.

The last team to beat the Ducks (9-2) at McArthur Court was USC on Feb. 24, 2001. The 23-game winning streak matched the school record set from Feb. 13, 1937 to Jan. 6, 1939.

Luke Jackson led the Ducks with 20 points, and Luke Ridnour added 16.

Oregon led by as many as 11 points early in the second half, but Arizona chipped away before tying it at 57 on Andre Iguodala’s steal and dunk with 12:20 to go.

Arizona tied it again at 59-59 but couldn’t manage to take the lead and Oregon went up, 65-61, on Jackson’s three-pointer with 8:44 left.

With both teams clearly fatigued, Arizona took a 68-67 lead on Dennis Latimore’s lay-in with 3:52 left, then extended it on Hassan Adams’ slam.

James Davis tied it at 70-70 with a three-pointer before Arizona pulled ahead for good.

Walton (sprained right ankle) suited up against the Ducks and participated in pre-game warmups but did not play as Arizona improved to 3-0 against ranked teams.

Arizona State 67, Oregon State 47 -- Ike Diogu had 14 points and 10 rebounds as the Sun Devils defeated the Beavers in a Pac-10 opener at Corvallis, Ore.

Curtis Millage added 16 points for the Sun Devils (9-3, 1-0 in the Pac-10).

Jimmie Haywood had 14 points and nine rebounds for the Beavers (7-3, 0-1). Philip Ricci added 10 points.

The Beavers led, 24-21, at the 6:55 mark, but the Sun Devils went on a 16-5 run to close out the first half and the Beavers never threatened in the second half.

The Sun Devils used their size advantage to outrebound the Beavers by 15 and dominate the offensive boards, 16-8.

Using a seven-man rotation for most of the game, the Beavers were worn down by tArizona State, and their shooting cooled to 23% in the second half.

Diogu, the freshman center who leads the Sun Devils in scoring, was double-teamed for much of the second half. Millage took over down the stretch, scoring six late points to clinch the win.