Cal gets what it wants with win

California came into the Pacific 10 Conference tournament looking for revenge.

The Golden Bears were still smarting from last weekend’s controversial loss to UCLA and wanted nothing more than another shot at the top-seeded Bruins.

They will get their chance after outlasting Washington, 84-81, in an opening-round game at Staples Center on Wednesday night.

“Obviously we were really upset after the [UCLA] game,” forward Ryan Anderson said. “We came into practice early this week ready to go.”

Anderson made sure that his team reached today’s 2:30 p.m. quarterfinal game against the Bruins by making a three-point shot and grabbing a rebound in the final minute.

Cal needed Anderson’s 22 points and 25 more from guard Patrick Christopher against a surprisingly tough Washington team.

The Huskies were missing star forward Jon Brockman, who finished the regular season averaging 17 points and trying to become the first player in more than a decade to lead the Pac-10 in rebounding for consecutive seasons.

With Brockman sidelined by a sprained ankle, Washington turned to forward Quincy Pondexter and guard Ryan Appleby for scoring punch, building a 12-point lead early in the second half.

Pondexter finished with 23 points, and Appleby had 12.

But no one filled the gap on the boards as Cal pulled down 19 offensive rebounds that translated into 20 second-chance points.

“I think that might have been the deciding factor,” Washington Coach Lorenzo Romar said.

The game turned with 16:34 left as Christopher made two consecutive jumpers to launch Cal on a 16-0 run.

When Washington pulled close at the end -- Pondexter scored 10 of his points in the final 6:27 -- Christopher made a big steal and Anderson made his big basket.

Cal Coach Ben Braun, rumored to be on the hot seat, tried to downplay the revenge factor against UCLA, though he acknowledged his players might feel differently.

“It’ll be a fun game to watch,” Christopher said. “Put on your seat belts.”

Arizona 87, Oregon State 56 -- In Wednesday’s late game, it was hard to discern when the layup drills ended and the real thing began. Arizona opened in a blur of fastbreaks and dunks on the way to a predictably lopsided victory over struggling Oregon State.

“Put in some subs,” a fan yelled at the Arizona bench. And that was still in the first half.

These were two teams pointed in decidedly opposite directions.

With an 18-13 record, Arizona needed at least one win -- perhaps more -- to keep its hopes alive for making the NCAA tournament for the 24th consecutive season.

Oregon State, meanwhile, finished the season at 6-25, becoming the first team to go winless in conference play since the Pac-8 became the Pac-10 in 1978.

So there were no critical baskets, no turning points. Arizona led, 32-10, after the first 10 minutes and stretched that margin to 59-21 at halftime.

Jordan Hill led Arizona with 16 points. Jerryd Bayless and Nic Wise each had 15. In a bright spot for Oregon State, guard Lathen Wallace had 19 points.

Seventh-seeded Arizona gets another late starting time tonight, facing second-seeded Stanford in an 8:30 quarterfinal game.

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david.wharton@latimes.com