Pac-10 roundup: Arizona defense helps wrap up Stanford's season

LOS ANGELES — Even without their leading scorer, the Arizona Wildcats had enough to get by mistake-prone Stanford.

The Wildcats' defense picked up the slack.

Ivan Radenovic had 21 points and seven rebounds, Mustafa Shakur added 18 points, seven rebounds and six assists, and the Wildcats held off the Cardinal 73-68 Thursday at Staples Center in the quarterfinals of the Pac-10 tournament.

LOS ANGELES — Even without their leading scorer, the Arizona Wildcats had enough to get by mistake-prone Stanford.

The Wildcats' defense picked up the slack.

Ivan Radenovic had 21 points and seven rebounds, Mustafa Shakur added 18 points, seven rebounds and six assists, and the Wildcats held off the Cardinal 73-68 Thursday at Staples Center in the quarterfinals of the Pac-10 tournament.

Arizona, shooting for its 22nd straight NCAA tournament appearance, moved within one victory of its 19th consecutive 20-win season. The Wildcats can achieve that milestone tonight against UCLA.

Meanwhile, Stanford's school-record 11-year streak of NCAA tournament appearances almost certainly will end with a 15-13 record.

Chris Rodgers added 12 points and five steals and Marcus Williams had 11 points despite a 3-for-16 shooting performance for the Wildcats, who forced Stanford to commit a season-high 23 turnovers.

"There's no question that the thing that did it for us was our defense," said Lute Olson, in his 23rd season as coach of the Wildcats. "That's been our trademark all year long. Our guys believe that defense is a way to win games."

Arizona committed only seven turnovers, and made 24 of 30 free throws to 10 of 11 for Stanford. The fifth-seeded Cardinal shot 50 percent to the Wildcats' 39 percent, and won the rebounding battle 36-27. But their turnovers did them in.

Arizona won without leading scorer Hassan Adams, suspended for the Pac-10 tournament by Olson after being arrested on suspicion of drunken driving last weekend.

Chris Hernandez scored all but five of his 20 points in the second half for Stanford. Matt Haryasz added 14 points and Peter Prowitt had 10 before fouling out with 3:26 remaining.

"It is really disappointing, especially for your senior year," Haryasz said concerning the probable end of the Cardinal's NCAA tournament streak. "We didn't win enough games, we didn't get the job done."

Other games

No. 13 UCLA 79, Oregon St. 47

Ryan Hollins scored a season-high 17 points as the Bruins (25-6) routed the Beavers (13-18).

Hollins also had eight rebounds, helping the Bruins to a 39-25 advantage on the boards. Arron Afflalo added 16 points, Michael Roll nine and Jordan Farmar seven.

Marcel Jones scored 19 points and was Oregon State's only player in double figures.

UCLA's 32-point margin of victory set a tournament record, bettering by one the old mark Arizona set against Oregon State last year. The Beavers nearly broke the record for fewest points in a game, missing it by one.

The Bruins lost starter Cedric Bozeman with just under six minutes left in the first half after he went down in a heap under the basket. The fifth-year senior guard sprained his left ankle. X-rays were negative, but he was placed in a walking boot and his status for today was unknown.

California 82, USC 67

Leon Powe had 22 points and a career-high 20 rebounds to help California advance. The Golden Bears (19-9) will meet Oregon in their first semifinal appearance since 2003.

For the first time since 1990, the sixth-seeded Trojans (17-13) lost all three of their meetings with Cal.

Gabe Pruitt scored 22 points to lead the Trojans. Loderick Stewart, a Rainier Beach High grad, scored one point in 30 minutes.