Washington State Defeats Oregon
Advances to Pac-10 Semis
www.wsucougars.com
14 Mar 2008
LOS ANGELES, California (AP) - Derrick Low scored 18 points, and No. 21 Washington State beat Oregon 75-70 on Thursday night in the quarterfinals of the Pac-10 tournament.
Taylor Rochestie scored 16 points, Kyle Weaver had 14 points and seven assists, and Robbie Cowgill added 12 points and six rebounds for the third-seeded Cougars (24-7), who won for the seventh time in nine games.
Tajuan Porter scored 17 of his 20 points in the second half and Malik Hairston also had 20 points for Oregon (18-13), whose final hope for an NCAA tournament berth almost surely disappeared. Maarty Leunen added 11 points for the sixth-seeded Ducks.
The Ducks, who never led, drew within four points on Porter's fourth 3-pointer of the game with 1:25 remaining. But that was as close as Oregon would get as the Cougars were successful enough at the foul line down the stretch to earn the victory.
Both teams made more than half their shots -- Oregon shot 53.2 percent and WSU 52.1 percent. The Ducks committed 13 turnovers to only seven for the Cougars.
Oregon returned four starters from a team that won the Pac-10 tournament last year before reaching the final eight in the NCAA tournament. The Ducks started 8-1 this season, but losses to Nebraska and upstart Oakland (Mich.) at home in December signaled their downfall.
Oregon had been the only team that advanced to the semifinals in every Pac-10 tournament since the event resumed in 2002.
The Cougars had what appeared to be a comfortable 54-37 lead early in the second half, but Porter scored the last 10 points of a 14-4 Oregon run, trimming Washington State's lead to seven points with nine minutes remaining. Full Story
Arizona Falls to Stanford
In Pac-10 Quarterfinals
www.arizonaathletics.com
14 Mar 2008
LOS ANGELES, California (AP) - Brook Lopez had 20 points and 15 rebounds, including 10 in a second-half spurt that helped No. 11 Stanford pull away to a 75-64 victory over Arizona in the Pac-10 tournament quarterfinals Thursday night.
The second-seeded Cardinal (25-6) advanced to Friday's semifinals against No. 3 seed Washington State, which beat Oregon 75-70. The Cardinal swept the Cougars (24-7) during the regular season.
Jerryd Bayless led seventh-seeded Arizona (19-14) with 18 points. Jordan Hill added 16 and Chase Budinger 13.
Robin Lopez, the 7-foot twin brother of Brook, added 14 points. Lawrence Hill, Mitch Johnson and Fred Washington had 11 points each.
Brook Lopez had 11 defensive rebounds and Johnson added 10 rebounds, helping Stanford dominate the boards, 50-27.
The Wildcats' streak of 23 consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, longest in the nation, could be in jeopardy. They went 8-10 in the league's regular season, their worst record since 1983-84, the last time Arizona didn't make the NCAAs. Full Story
Pac-10 Tournament Central
