Recap by Scott Allen
(1) Stanford 70, (5) Oregon 63
The Ducks gave the Cardinal a scare in Friday’s first semifinal matchup, but Stanford – as it has throughout the season – came up with the big play down the stretch. With the game tied 61-61 and under two-and-a-half minutes to play, Oregon’s Luke Jackson went up for a three-point attempt that was swatted by Matt Lottich. Stanford’s Josh Childress corralled the deflection and fired ahead to a streaking Lottich, who hit a layup and was fouled on the play. Lottich knocked down the free throw to give the Cardinal a three-point lead and the Ducks would not threaten again. Childress scored 18 points to lead the Cardinal and Lottich added 15 to go along with four rebounds and four assists. Jackson, playing in his final Pac-10 Tournament, finished with 12 points, six rebounds and five assists in defeat. Oregon got 19 points apiece from Jackson, Andre Joseph and James Davis in Thursday’s quarterfinal win over Cal, but the trio combined for just 36 points against Stanford. Freshman point guard Aaron Brooks had a dismal night, finishing just 1-for-10 from the field and the Ducks were 8-for-25 from long distance as a team.
Both teams played a sluggish first half with Oregon heading into the break with a 24-23 lead. The score remained close throughout the second half before Stanford opened up an eight-point lead off a Lottich three-pointer with 7:33 to play. But Oregon stormed back with a 9-0 run to take the lead back at the 4:38 mark. Rob Little, who finished with 13 points, six rebounds and two pretty alley-oop assists to Childress, scored Stanford’s next six points before Lottich’s game-changing play. The Ducks, which won last year’s Pac-10 Tournament, finish the season 15-12 and should receive an NIT bid. Stanford, which presumably locked up a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament with the win, looks to avenge its only loss of the regular season when it takes on Washington in today’s championship game.
(2) Washington 90, (3) Arizona 85
The third time was the charm for the Huskies, although the first and second times were pretty sweet, too. Washington became the first team in 24 years to defeat the Wildcats three times in one season, advancing to the Pac-10 Tournament championship game today and bolstering an increasingly impressive tournament resume in the process. Nate Robinson, who hit a fadeaway jumper as time expired in the first half to send the Huskies into the break ahead by two, scored 11 of his team-high 20 points in the final 6:09. Arizona, which jumped out to an early lead, struggled to find its rhythm from long range (1-for-6) and fell behind by as many as nine after the break. The Wildcats pulled to within three with 49 seconds to play off a Chris Rodgers layup, but Robinson answered with a jumper with the shot clock winding down to give the Huskies an 88-83 lead with 14 seconds left.
Hassan Adams tied a career-high with 30 points and grabbed nine rebounds and Channing Frye had his second consecutive solid game (20 points, 8 rebounds) for Arizona. But Salim Stoudamire scored only nine points and freshman point guard Mustafa Shakur, the hero of Thursday’s quarterfinal victory, was held to seven. The Huskies placed six players in double figures and the Washington bench outscored Arizona’s 40-6. Tre Simmons poured in 19 and Brandon Roy added 12 on 6-for-8 shooting. Washington connected on 12 of 25 three-point attempts and outrebounded the Wildcats by 10.
