LAS VEGAS –
Oumar Ballo scored 24 points and No. 8 Arizona pulled away late to beat Stanford 95-84 on Thursday night to reach the Pac-12 Conference tournament semifinals.
Cedric Henderson Jr. had 23 points and Azuolas Tubelis scored 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 wins in a coach’s first two seasons. Former North Carolina coach Bill Guthridge held the previous record.
Lloyd also improved his record in Las Vegas with the Wildcats to 7-0, including 6-0 at T-Mobile Arena. They are the champions of the tournament.
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 had 13 and Harrison Ingram finished with 12.
The Cardinals didn’t make it easy in Arizona, having lost two of three and entering the game 3-3 over their previous six. Also, Stanford won three of four entering this game and won their only meeting of the season, 88-79 on February 11th.
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 stay within striking distance for most of the game.
Oregon 75, Washington State 70
Oregon guard Rivaldo Soares, left, shoots against Washington State forward DJ Rodman during the second half of the Pac-12 tournament quarterfinals in Las Vegas on Thursday.
(David Becker/Associated Press)
Keeshawn Barthelemy and Jermaine Couisnard each scored 17 points and Oregon erased a 19-point deficit before going on a 7-0 run to beat Washington State 75-70 in the Pac-12 championship on Thursday.
Fourth-seeded Oregon (19-13), which has won 10 straight games in the conference tournament, advances to play top-seeded UCLA on Friday in the semifinals. Fifth-seeded Washington State (17-16) saw its seven-game winning streak end.
N’Faly Dante had 16 points and 11 rebounds for Oregon, but rolled his right ankle in the final seconds and did not return.
Dante put it back with 1:18 left to give Oregon a 72-70 lead and TJ Bamba missed the rim on a 3-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 had to help from the ground. Barthelemy was fouled and made one of two free throws for a three-point lead.
Washington State turned it over and the Ducks drove the other way for a snap, but DJ Rodman blocked it with 10.3 left to keep it a one-possession game. Oregon finally scored after several timeouts and Rivaldo Soares made two free throws to seal it.
Bamba finished with 19 points for Washington State. Justin Powell added 15, Mouhamed Gueye 14 and Andrej Jakimovski 10. The Cougars shot 44 percent, including 11 of 23 from 3-point range.
Washington State led by 19 points in the first half, but rallied late to take a 38-30 lead into halftime. Carlos Rosario hit just his fifth 3-pointer of the season for the Cougars, Bamba hit a floater in the lane and Jakimovski added another 3-pointer to cap a 10-0 halftime run. The Ducks missed their final six shots of the half.
The Cougars opened the second half with a layup by Gueye for the first points of the game. Gueye added a 3-pointer to make it 47-45 with 13:59 left, and Washington State took its first lead of the game on a Bamba three with 9:10 left.