Pac-12 men: Oregon hands Stanford tough loss; Cal defeats Oregon State

Stanford coach Johnny Dawkins pointed to Oregon junior forward Elgin Cook as the primary reason the Ducks came out ahead in an important Pac-12 Conference game Sunday at Stanford.

Cook scored 21 points, the third time he’s scored as many, and the Ducks beat the Cardinal 73-70 to clinch the third seed and a first-round bye in the upcoming Pac-12 Conference tournament.

Dwayne Benjamin, who had 15 points, made one of two free throws with 14 seconds remaining to give Oregon (22-8, 12-5 Pac-12) the lead and Joseph Young, who also scored 21 points, sank two free throws with three seconds left after a missed Stanford shot.

Cook, who entered the game with a 12.7 scoring average, helped the Ducks win their fourth in a row and eighth of nine overall.

“He really stepped up for them,” Dawkins said. “That’s the best I’ve ever seen him play. He was hitting his perimeter shots and creating tough match-ups for us.”

Chasson Randle scored 17 points to lead the Cardinal (18-10, 9-7), who fell to fifth place after UCLA’s victory Sunday night against Washington State. Stefan Nastic added 16 points, Marcus Allen 14 and Anthony Brown 11.

Brown gave Stanford a 60-59 edge on a driving layup with just under seven minutes remaining in the contest. He extended the lead a minute later with a short jumper.

Oregon kept coming, though, and tied the game on Benjamin’s 3-pointer from the corner with 3:26 left. The Ducks took the lead moments later when Bell blocked a shot at one end of the court and slammed the ball through the net on the other end.

The game was tied at 70 heading into the final minute. The teams traded turnovers, with Benjamin stealing the ball and getting fouled with 14 seconds left to play.

“We got some stops there where we needed them,” Ducks coach Dana Altman said. “Then Dwayne came up with a big steal. It was imperative that he get one of those free throws down. We’d loved to have had both, but we had to have one to get a lead.”

Randle was looking to create something in the paint before trying to get the ball back out, where Benjamin stepped in and grabbed it.

“I thought he was going to drive and make something happen,” Altman said. “He was successful doing it. I thought our guys did a pretty good job of fighting him all night.”

Stanford missed its last seven shots of the first half, shot 4 of 8 from the foul line and committed two turnovers during that eight-minute span.

The Ducks were 6 of 11 from the field over the same stretch.

The Cardinal were ahead 29-28 after a Stefan Nastic free throw with 3:45 to play in the first half.

Oregon outscored Stanford 8-1 the rest of the way to take a 36-30 halftime advantage.

CAL 73, OREGON STATE 56

At Berkeley, it hasn’t been the type of season David Kravish was expecting, neither from himself nor his California teammates.

The Golden Bears forward made up for it with one of his best games of the year in his final appearance at Haas Pavilion.

One of three seniors on first-year coach Cuonzo Martin’s team, Kravish scored 13 points to go with a season-high 13 rebounds and three blocked shots to lead Cal to victory.

The fifth-leading shot blocker in conference history, Kravish scored all but two of his points over the final nine minutes.

“That was great, especially the way we played,” Kravish said. “We played really well defensively and got stops when we needed to. We did a good job in that second half of not relinquishing control of the game.”

Jordan Mathews scored 17 points, Jabari Bird had 14 and California used a big run in the second half to pull away.

Tyrone Wallace added 12 points and seven assists for the Golden Bears. California (17-12, 7-9 Pac-12) snapped a three-game losing streak in its final home game of the season by beating a team with a winning record for just the third time since Jan. 2.

“They had a flow going and we were stagnant offensively,” Martin said. “We didn’t have a presence around the rim. We adjusted a couple of things. We made plays and we made shots.”

The Bears trailed 44-36 with 13 minutes remaining when they put together one of their best runs of the year. Cal scored 18 consecutive points and outscored the Beavers 24-2 over a six-minute span to take the lead for good.

Mathews made two 3-pointers during the run then capped it with two free throws that put the Bears up 60-46.

Malcolm Duvivier had 18 points and eight rebounds for Oregon State (17-12, 8-9).

With two games left before the Pac-12 Tournament, the Bears still have a slim shot of getting a first-round bye but will need plenty of help.

Oregon State could have strengthened its hopes of getting a pass in the first round of the conference tournament by beating Cal. Instead, coach Wayne Tinkle’s team lost for the fifth time in six games.

The Beavers were in position to do that until the Bears went on their big run.

“We were really attacking the lane,” Kravish said. “That put some pressure on them. They had to come out of the zone. That kind of hurt them a little bit because we’ve got a lot of guys who can really get to the basket.”

Cal used its perimeter shooting to loosen up Oregon State’s zone defense in the first half. The Bears made four 3-pointers, including three straight to begin the game, and took a 21-13 lead on Sam Singer’s layup.

The Beavers also used their long-distance shooting to stay close then took a 29-24 lead following Duvivier’s three-point play and a 3-pointer by Tanner Sanders.

Cal closed the half on an 8-2 run and led 32-31 at the half.

TIP-INS

Oregon State: The Beavers first four points came on two emphatic dunks by Gary Payton II. He finished with 12 points. Payton had a steal in his 29th consecutive game, tying his father for the second-longest streak in school history.

California: The Bears have won five in a row against the Beavers. They haven’t lost to Oregon State since Jan. 5, 2012.

UP NEXT

Oregon State: Hosts Oregon on Wednesday.

California: At Arizona on Thursday.