Pac-12 basketball: No. 14 Oregon rallies to beat No. 24 Arizona in OT
Payton Pritchard scored a career-high 38 points, Shakur Juiston added all of Oregon’s points in overtime, and the 14th-ranked Ducks rallied to beat No. 24 Arizona 73-72 on Saturday night in Tucson.
Pritchard had a terrific game in regulation and Juiston was the unlikely hero in overtime, scoring nine points, including a layup with 1.4 seconds left that was the winning basket. Arizona had one more great opportunity, but Christian Koloko missed two free throws with one second left that could have tied or won the game.
Arizona led 64-58 with 3:27 left in regulation, but the Wildcats went cold and Pritchard hit six straight free throws to pull the Ducks even with 15 seconds left. Arizona’s Josh Green missed two free throws with 2.5 seconds remaining that would have put the Wildcats ahead.
Dylan Smith led Arizona (19-8, 9-5 Pac-12 Conference) with 18 points. Zeke Nnaji and Nico Mannion both scored 13. The Wildcats had a rough night at the free-throw line, making just 10 of 21 and missing the four crucial ones by Green and Koloko.
As USC trudges through at nightmarish February, the Trojans desperately need a big win, and more wins, to keep their NCAA tournament bubble from bursting.
Oregon’s offense revolved around the great shooting of Pritchard. He gave the Ducks (21-7, 10-5) a huge boost by making several difficult three-pointers, shooting over Arizona defenders who were in his face.
The rest of the team didn’t have a particularly good night until Juiston’s clutch play in the final minutes. Oregon snapped a three-game road losing streak. Juiston finished with 14 points.
Pritchard scored 20 points in the first half as Oregon pushed to a 36-33 halftime lead. He hit seven of 11 shots — including four of eight from behind the three-point line — before the break. Nnaji had eight points and five rebounds for the Wildcats in the first half.
at Arizona State 74, Oregon State 73: Remy Martin and Alonzo Verge Jr. scored 17 points each, and the Sun Devils extended their winning streak to seven with a victory over the Beavers in Tempe, Ariz.
Romello White had 15 points, Kimani Lawrence added 14 and Rob Edwards scored 10 for Arizona State (19-8, 10-4), which has won nine of its last 10 and is in first place in the league after a 1-3 start.
Tres Tinkle had 25 points and Ethan Thompson had 20 and a season-high four three-pointers for the Beavers (15-12, 5-10), who have lost three in a row and eight of 11.
UCLA wipes out a nine-point deficit by going on a 14-point run in the second half to secure its fifth consecutive victory in a 70-63 triumph over Colorado.
Oregon State scored the final five points after Verge’s layup gave the Sun Devils a 74-68 lead with 2:31 left.
Jarod Lucas made a three-pointer with 1:40 remaining to make it 74-73, but his three-pointer with two seconds remaining hit the rim and bounced off.
The Sun Devils’ winning streak is their longest in conference games since the 1980-81 team won 11 in a row.
at Washington 87, California 52: Nahziah Carter scored 16 points, Isaiah Stewart had 15, and the Huskies (13-15, 3-12) snapped a nine-game losing streak with a rout of the Golden Bears (11-16, 5-9) in Seattle.
Washington held Cal without a field goal for more than 15 minutes during a stretch spanning halftime to take the victory. The Huskies forced 17 turnovers and held the Bears to 11 field goals and 24% shooting in a game that showed the team’s athletic promise.
Udoka Azubuike’s 23 points and career-high 19 rebounds power No. 3 Kansas to a 64-61 win at No. 1 Baylor; No. 2 Gonzaga loses at No. 23 Brigham Young.
Washington started the season with a win over No. 1 Baylor and was ranked at one point. But after losing 11 of its last 12, it was stuck in a repetitive cycle of second-half fades and long scoring droughts.
Enter Cal, which had lost four straight before a win at Washington State on Thursday. The Bears were led by Matt Bradley’s 14 points Saturday.
Go beyond the scoreboard
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