Arizona rallies to defeat Oregon State

Jordan Hill had 20 points and 14 rebounds and No. 21 Arizona pulled away to beat stubborn Oregon State, 76-63, in the teams’ Pac-10 opener on Thursday night at Tucson, Ariz.

Nic Wise, starting in place of injured freshman point guard Jarryd Bayless, scored 17 points on seven-for-nine shooting. He had 12 points in the second half when the Wildcats (10-3) rallied from a seven-point deficit.

Chase Budinger of the Wildcats missed seven of his first eight shots then came alive late for 11 points over the final six minutes to finish with 20.

Freshman Omari Johnson, playing his fifth game after missing the first 13 because of an injured right cheekbone, scored 19 points for the Beavers (6-7).

Bayless, Arizona’s leading scorer at 18.5 points a game, missed his second straight game because of a sprained right knee. He is expected to sit out Saturday’s game against Oregon.

Arizona State 62, Oregon 54 -- James Harden scored 20 points, Jeff Pendergraph added 17 and Derek Glasser scored seven points in the final three minutes at Tempe, Ariz., in the Pac-10 opener for both schools.

The Sun Devils (11-2) went on a 13-2 run late in the second half to get their first conference-opening win since 2003.

Oregon (9-4) used a 10-0 run to take a 42-36 lead with about seven minutes to play.

Arizona State, which went seven minutes without a basket, went ahead to stay at 49-47 on Harden’s three-pointer with 4:45 remaining.

Glasser, who finished with 10 points, had five free throws and a layup down the stretch as the Sun Devils held off the Ducks.

Pendergraph had 13 of his points in the second half, including his team’s first eight to erase a 30-26 halftime deficit.

Oregon was led by Malik Hairston with 14 points. Bryce Taylor added 13.