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UCLA 62, Oregon State 57: "Trailing by fifteen at Halftime, the Beavers tried to use the momentum they got at the end of the first half. The Beavers pulled within eleven right out of the gate, but UCLA quickly brought their lead back up to 17. But Oregon State did not panic, and the Beavers used a 21-4 run to tie the game up at 51 with 6:25 left. Oregon St. shut UCLA out for 6 minutes during the run.
The teams went back and forth from there, but Lazeric Jones ended up putting the dagger into the Beavers with a pull-up jumper to give UCLA a two point advantage with 40 seconds left. Oregon State had a chance to tie, but Haynes missed a point blank layup, Joshua Smith sunk two more free throws, Nelson missed a jumper, Tyler Honeycutt made a free throw, and just like that, the Bruins escaped Corvallis with a victory. It was the 12th consecutive win for the Bruins over the Beavers." (Recap via Building the Dam)
Stanford 58, #18 Washington 56: Coming into Thursday, this was probably the game that most everyone was looking forward to. The two teams did not disappoint, with the game going right down to the final buzzer.
The first half went back and forth up until the final couple minutes, when Stanford took a 6 point lead. But Washington would go on a 5-0 run from there, and the Cardinal only led 29-28 going into the locker rooms.
Coach Lorenzo Romar must have done something right at Halftime, because the Huskies came out firing, and hitting their shots. Washingon built a quick 49-40 lead, but Stanford slowly battled their way back. The Cardinal took a 53-51 lead with 3:50 left, and the game went back and forth from there. Tied at 56 with 30 seconds remaining, Josh Owens tipped in a Jarret Mann miss to give Stanford a 58-56 lead.
The Huskies got three chances in the final five seconds to either tie or take the lead, starting with a Scott Suggs three pointer. Suggs missed, but Justin Holiday got the rebound. Holiday couldn't put the ball back in, but he got fouled and would get two shots to try and tie the game with two seconds remaining. Holiday missed both free throws, somehow managed to get his own rebound, but missed a desperation attempt at the buzzer to give Stanford the upset.
Josh Owens led Stanford with 14 points, while Holiday led the Huskies with 15.
California 88, Washington State 81: "For the first time in quite a while, I think we all felt good about the Cal team. After several games with a floundering offense and inconsistent defense, it was nice to go down to the desert and put forth two noteworthy efforts. Despite seemingly one-sided whistles, we were a missed or made shot away from a previously inconceivable desert sweep. To do so in turmoil spawned from an unexpected and still mind-boggling defection (Franklin's transfer) speaks highly of the team's character and Monty's leadership." (Recap via California Golden Blogs)
More game recaps, plus updated standings after the break
Oregon 68, USC 62: The long night in Pac-10 play ended on Thursday with the first ever game at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene. The Ducks entered the game 0-4 in Pac-10 play, while the Trojans were riding high after a rivalry win against UCLA last Sunday.
The game started out ugly, with both teams missing a lot of their shots. The Ducks were first to settle down though, and they built a six point lead three times throughout the first half. The first ever half at Matt Court was capped by a Tyrone Nared dunk with five seconds left to give Oregon a 32-26 lead at the end of the first half.
USC got off to a good start in the second half, but the Trojans would go ice cold just as fast. Lucky for Oregon, the Ducks' shots finally began to fall, and Oregon took a 20 point lead on a USC team that lost to Kansas by two, and beat Tennessee by 1.
The Trojans finally found the basket, and sure enough, they went on a run. USC cut the Oregon lead to five on three different occasions in the final four minutes, but Oregon made their free throws and got their first Pac-10 win with a 66-62 win.
Jonathan Loyd led Oregon with 12 points, while Donte Smith led USC with 13 points off the bench.
Updated Pac-10 Standings
1. Washington, 12-4 (4-1)
2. Arizona, 14-3 (3-1)
3. Stanford, 10-5 (3-1)
4. USC, 10-7 (2-2)
5. UCLA, 10-6 (2-2)
6. California, 9-7 (2-2)
7. Washington State, 12-5 (2-3)
8. Oregon State, 7-9 (2-3)
9. Arizona State, 9-7 (1-3)
10. Oregon, 8-9 (1-4)
Once again, if you would like an excerpt from your blog's game recap, please let me know at ConnorOSU@gmail.com.
--Connor