Pac-10 Conference Notebook
by Scott Allen
Washington State upset first-place Arizona on the road to highlight another wacky weekend of Pac-10 action. While Oregon’s NCAA chances continue to fade, UCLA revived its dwindling hopes with a thrilling comeback win at USC. Stanford and Cal remained hot at the expense of Oregon State, while Washington earned a split in the desert.
Team of the Week: Stanford Cardinal
Don’t look now, but after starting the conference season 0-3 Stanford is one game out of first place. The Cardinal extended their winning streak to six games with a pair of wins over Oregon State and Oregon at renovated Maples Pavilion.
Game of the Week: Washington State 70, Arizona 63
The Cougars ended a 38-game losing streak to the Wildcats with a shocking victory at McKale Center. Senior guard Thomas Kelati finished with 27 points and drilled a career-high seven three-pointers, the last of which gave the Cougars the lead for good with 50 seconds to play. Salim Stoudamire had a chance to tie on the ensuing possession, but his three-pointer rimmed out and Kelati nailed two free throws to ice the game. It was Arizona’s first loss at home this season and Washington State’s first win in Tucson in the last 20 games.
Player of the Week: Matt Haryasz, Stanford
It’s hard not to give the nod to Kelati, but Haryasz was equally outstanding in leading streaking Stanford to a pair of home wins over the Oregon schools. The junior forward recorded a pair of double-doubles, including a rare 20-point, 20-rebound performance against the Ducks. Haryasz shot a combined 14-for-23 and also added four blocks in two games.
Freshman of the Week: Nick Young, USC
While the Trojans lost 72-69 to UCLA, Young finished with 22 points and seven rebounds on 8-for-12 shooting.
Around the Pac-10
Arizona (17-4, 7-2)
It was the best of times and the worst of times for Lute Olson’s Wildcats with the Washington schools in town. Arizona overcame a seven-point halftime deficit to down Pac-10 co-leader Washington 91-82 on Thursday before suffering a historic loss to Washington State two days later. Salim Stoudamire paced the ‘Cats with 25 points and five rebound against the Huskies, while Mustafa Shakur and Channing Frye added 19 and 18 points, respectively. Arizona allowed Washington to hit 13 three-pointers, but held the Huskies to 38 percent shooting from the field. What figured to be a post-Washington victory party for Arizona on Saturday against the Cougars turned into a shocking 70-63 defeat.
Up Next: Thursday vs. California, Saturday vs. Stanford
Arizona State (15-6, 4-5)
Like their desert rivals, the Sun Devils earned a split against the Washington schools, but in a more expected manner. Arizona State defeated Washington State 68-62 on Thursday behind 18 points and 10 rebounds from forward Serge Angounou, who shot seven-for-seven from the field. Junior center Ike Diogu added 15 points and 13 boards. The Sun Devils built a 10-point halftime lead and held off a late Washington State rally, scoring 14 more points than the Cougars’ defense was allowing heading into the game.
Angounou was a non-factor against Washington on Saturday, however, scoring just four points in the Sun Devils’ 79-70 loss. Diogu finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds, but Arizona state had no answer for Washington’s Nate Robinson, who scored 23 points and dished out five assists. Arizona State committed 21 turnovers in the loss.
Up Next: Thursday vs. Stanford, Saturday vs. California
California (11-8, 4-5)
Riding the momentum of a dominating win at UCLA two weeks ago, Cal stayed hot with a sweep of the Oregon schools at Haas Pavilion. Rod Benson led all scorers with 15 points in Cal’s 65-62 victory over Oregon on Thursday night, as the Bears made a 10-point halftime lead stand up despite several late Ducks rallies. Marquise Kately came off the bench to score 15 points for the Bears, who have won seven of the last 10 meetings between the two schools.
Cal extended its winning streak to three in dominating fashion against the Beavers on Saturday. Benson’s double-double (22 points, 10 rebounds) propelled the Bears to a 91-66 win. A 20-0 first-half run paved the way for a 44-27 halftime advantage and Cal never cooled off in shooting 57 percent from the field. After missing the last three games with a shoulder injury, Richard Midgley returned and scored nine points off the bench.
Up Next: Thursday at Arizona, Saturday at Arizona State
Oregon (11-7, 3-6)
Coming off back-to-back home losses to the Arizona schools, the Ducks didn’t find the rain-soaked Bay Area any more hospitable. Cal held freshman guard Bryce Taylor, averaging over 11 points per game, to just two points in the Bears’ 65-62 win on Thursday at Haas Pavilion. Fellow freshman Malik Hairston’s 15 points were not enough to overcome Cal’s balanced attack. Trailing by 10 at the half, Oregon battled back and had a chance to take the lead in the final minute, but point guard Aaron Brooks’ three-pointer would not fall. Oregon has not won at Cal since Feb. 12, 2000.
The Ducks’ dry spell at Maples Pavilion, which was extended to 19 games after Stanford’s 88-69 win, is even longer. Oregon has not win at Stanford since Jan. 13, 1986. Hairston scored 19 points to lead the Ducks once again, but the other four starters combined for just 13 points. Oregon’s defense faltered in allowing the Cardinal to race to a 51-25 halftime lead, and the Ducks were outrebounded (42-28) by a Cardinal team that had been outrebounded in five consecutive games.
Up Next: Saturday at Oregon State
Oregon State (11-9, 2-3)
Remember when the Beavers were 10-3? Oregon State dropped a pair of games last weekend and has now lost six of seven since that point. The Beavers suffered a particularly disheartening 69-65 loss to Stanford on Thursday after Oregon State had battled all the way back from an 18-point second-half deficit. Nick DeWitz scored 21 points and grabbed seven rebounds and fueled the late surge after senior forward David Lucas fouled out with over seven minutes to play. The Beavers had a chance to tie the game with under 15 seconds to play, but guard Jason Fontenet slipped while driving to the basket and turned the ball over to Stanford.
The first half script was the same against Cal on Saturday, only there would be no comeback in the Beavers’ 91-66 loss. Lucas led Oregon State with 22 points and 10 rebounds, but the Beavers shot just 38 percent from the field, committed 19 turnovers and were outrebounded 36-29.
Up Next: Saturday vs. Oregon
Stanford (12-7, 6-3)
Surging Stanford extended its winning streak to six games with a sweep of the Oregon schools last weekend. The Cardinal let an 18-point second-half lead evaporate before holding off Oregon State 69-65 on Thursday night at Maples Pavilion. Chris Hernandez scored a game-high 23 points and drilled six free throws in the final 23 seconds to secure the win. Leading scorer Dan Grunfeld added 15 for the Cardinal, which won despite shooting just 18-for-31 from the free throw line as a team.
The Cardinal did a better job finishing what they started two days later in an 88-69 win over Oregon. Junior forward Matt Haryasz had 20 points and 20 rebounds in the win, becoming the first Cardinal to accomplish that feat since Tim Young did it at Oregon in 1997. Haryasz’s career night overshadowed another strong game by Hernandez, who finished with 19 points and five assists. Stanford outrebounded the Ducks 42-28.
Up Next: Thursday at Arizona State, Saturday at Arizona
UCLA (11-6, 5-4)
Trailing by 18 at halftime, it appeared the Bruins’ four-game losing streak to cross-town rival USC would grow to five. But senior Dijon Thompson sparked a second-half rally to lift UCLA to a much-needed 72-69 win at the Sports Arena. Thompson finished with 24 points and seven rebounds after scoring just 12 points combined in two home losses to Stanford and California two weeks ago. Thompson’s free throws with just under a minute to play put the Bruins up for good. Freshman Josh Shipp added 13 points for UCLA, which shot 8-for-17 from long range.
Up Next: Thursday at Washington State, Saturday at Washington
USC (10-11, 2-7)
The Trojans did everything in their power to give away what looked like a solid home win against UCLA. As part of the 72-69 loss, the Trojans committed 19 turnovers and shot just 5-for-13 from the free throw line, allowing the Bruins to erase an 18-point halftime deficit and end USC’s four-game winning streak in the series. Freshmen Gabe Pruitt and Nick Young combined for 41 points in the loss.
Up Next: Thursday at Washington, Saturday at Washington State
Washington (17-3, 7-2)
With Arizona taking away the inside, the Huskies’ shooters ran out of gas in their 91-82 loss to the Wildcats on Thursday. Washington attempted 34 three-pointers, connecting on 13, but got just six points from forward Mike Jensen. The Huskies shot just 39 percent from the field. Nate Robinson finished with just 10 points on 4-for-12 shooting and committed five turnovers.
Washington bounced back on Saturday at Arizona State, getting 23 points from Robinson and 15 from guard Tre Simmons in a 79-70 win. The Huskies forced 21 turnovers and shot 88 percent from the free throw line (22-for-25) to move back into a tie for first place in the Pac-10 standings.
Up Next: Thursday vs. USC, Saturday vs. UCLA
Washington State (9-9, 4-5)
A 68-62 loss at Arizona State preceded the Cougars’ historic win in Tucson. Jeff Varem scored 24 points on 10-for-12 shooting in the loss, as Washington State could not overcome a slow start and some shaky free throw shooting against the Sun Devils. Thomas Kelati, the hero against Arizona, made just two of his seven attempts, as the Cougars finished 9-for-21 from the charity stripe as a team.
Up Next: Thursday vs. UCLA, Saturday vs. USC
