Pac-10 Conference Tournament: No. 4 Arizona pressured No. 5 Stanford into 23 turnovers, which doomed the Cardinal to a 73-68 loss. Without their leading scorer, senior guard Hassan Adams, the Wildcats saw junior forward Ivan Radenovic step up his game to score 21 points and collect seven rebounds. Coach Lute Olson suspended Adams after he was arrested last weekend and charged with driving under the influence. The Wildcats advance to the Pac-10 Tournament semifinals to play No. 1 UCLA.
The Bruins reached the semifinals by thrashing No. 9 Oregon State 79-47. Senior center Ryan Hollins had a strong game with 17 points and eight rebounds. Despite the win, the Bruins managed to suffer another injury as senior swingman Cedric Bozeman went down with an ankle injury in the first half and missed the rest of the game. He returned to the sidelines in a walking boot after having X-rays, which did not reveal a break or other serious injury.
The 3rd-seeded Cal Bears were all business in the second half Thursday night, neatly disposing of Tim Floyd’s 6th-seeded USC Trojans 82-67. Cal was led by the resurgent Leon Powe, the Pac-10’s leading scorer and rebounder, who had 22 points and a career-high (and Pac-10 Tournament mark) of 20 rebounds in his 14th double-double of the season. Ayinde Ubaka added 16 points and Jamaal Wilkes added 14 for the Bears. After only trailing by two at the half, the Trojans suffered a 9-minute stretch without a field goal, ended by a seven point streak by Nick Young, who scored 20 points before fouling out. Gabe Pruitt led the Trojans with 22 points.
In the nightcap, 7th-seeded Oregon shocked 2-seed and nationally-ranked Washington 84-73. The Ducks, led by Chamberlain Oguchi’s 22-point second half outburst, took the lead for good with seven minutes remaining, outpacing the Huskies down the stretch. It wasn’t all good for the Ducks, however, as Aaron Brooks was ejected for a flagrant foul – nailing Washington reserve Ryan Appleby in the face, midway through the first half. Brooks will be suspended for the Pac-10 semifinal against Cal. Brandon Roy led the one-man assault for the Huskies with 30 points, and Jamaal Williams added 17 off the bench. Malik Hairston added 20 points for the Ducks. [3/09/06]
