Pac-12 tournament roundup: Arizona pulls away from Stanford; Oregon beats Washington State
Oumar Ballo scored 24 points and No. 8 Arizona broke away late, beating Stanford 95-84 Thursday night to reach the Pac-12 Conference tournament semifinals.
Cedric Henderson Jr. had 23 points and Azuolas Tubelis added 20 for the Wildcats (26-6). They will play either Arizona State or USC on Friday night.
Tommy Lloyd won his 59th game at Arizona, the most victories in a coach’s first two seasons. Former North Carolina coach Bill Guthridge held the previous mark.
Lloyd also improved his record in Las Vegas with the Wildcats to 7-0, including 6-0 at T-Mobile Arena. They are the defending tournament champions.
Courtney Ramey had 15 points for Arizona, which used a 12-2 run to take a 92-78 lead. The Wildcats shot 64%.
Spencer Jones led Stanford (14-19) with 22 points, Brandon Angel had 19, Michael Jones scored 13 and Harrison Ingram finished with 12.
The Cardinal didn’t make it easy on Arizona, which entered the game having lost two of three and had gone 3-3 over its previous six. Plus, Stanford had won three of four entering this game and had claimed the season’s only meeting, 88-79 on Feb. 11.
Stanford threatened to sweep the season series, absorbing Arizona runs of 15-2 and 14-3 in the first half and 10-0 in the second to remain in striking distance most of the game.
Oregon 75, Washington State 70
Keeshawn Barthelemy and Jermaine Couisnard each scored 17 points and Oregon had a 19-point lead erased before closing on a 7-0 run to beat Washington State 75-70 on Thursday in the Pac-12 tournament.
Fourth-seeded Oregon (19-13), which has won 10 straight games in the conference tournament, advances to play top-seeded UCLA in the semifinals Friday. Washington State (17-16), the No. 5 seed, had a seven-game winning streak come to an end.
N’Faly Dante added 16 points and 11 rebounds for Oregon, but he rolled his right ankle in the closing seconds and did not return.
Dante had a putback with 1:18 left to give Oregon a 72-70 lead and TJ Bamba didn’t hit the rim on a three-pointer at the other end. The Cougars and Ducks each had a block on the next two possessions, but Dante went to the ground after his block and needed to be helped off the floor. Barthelemy was fouled and he made one of two free throws for a three-point lead.
Washington State turned it over and the Ducks raced the other way for a fast-break dunk but DJ Rodman blocked it with 10.3 left to keep it a one-possession game. Oregon eventually inbounded it after several timeouts and Rivaldo Soares made two free throws to seal it.
Here’s everything you need to know about UCLA and USC as the Pac-12 tournament continues, setting the stage for Selection Sunday and March Madness.
Bamba finished with 19 points for Washington State. Justin Powell added 15, Mouhamed Gueye had 14 and Andrej Jakimovski 10. The Cougars shot 44%, including 11 of 23 from 3-point range.
Washington State trailed by as many as 19 points in the first half but rallied late to get within 38-30 at the break. Carlos Rosario made just his fifth three-pointer of the season for the Cougars, Bamba made a floater in the lane and Jakimovski added another three-pointer to cap a 10-0 half-closing run. The Ducks missed their final six shots of the half.
The Cougars opened the second half with a basket by Gueye for his first points of the game. Gueye added a 3-pointer to get within 47-45 with 13:59 left, and Washington State took its first lead of the game with 9:10 remaining on a Bamba three-pointer.
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