LOS ANGELES — Stanford was playing with a spring in its step Saturday, skipping into the halftime break with a 20-point lead after five points in a 10-second stretch before the buzzer.
It ended up being the best thing that could have happened — to Southern California.
Oneyka Okongwu scored 22 points and Elijah Weaver hit a clutch 3-pointer to force overtime as USC rallied from a 21-point second-half deficit to earn an 82-78 victory on Saturday.
Stanford’s late first-half scoring outburst prompted a team admonishing by USC head coach Andy Enfield that was probably coming even if Stanford didn’t get a Jaiden Delaire layup with 10 seconds remaining in the first half and a 3-pointer from Tyrell Terry with one second on the clock.
Enfield’s halftime intensity transferred to his team’s defensive effort in the second half, which ended up making the offense click as the Trojans figured out a way to overcome the Cardinal.
USC trailed 46-25 early in the second half. The Trojans chased down the Cardinal over the next 19 minutes. They owned the extra period. Enfield supplied the fuel.
“After the halftime speech we got from coach, it was time to lock in and play,” Weaver said. “One hundred percent that’s what it was; it was our defense.”
What did Enfield say exactly? Weaver smiled, suggesting it was probably best left behind closed doors. Whatever it was, it worked.
“I used my dad’s deep voice at halftime,” Enfield said. “I yelled very loud and they responded. We beat a very good team. We came out with energy. We had missed so many close shots in the first half and they made shots. Some of the first half was them, but a lot was us.”
Weaver continued to deliver for the Trojans in overtime, scoring eight of his team’s 13 points. He finished with 13. His 3-pointer at the regulation buzzer was his only make from distance in five attempts.
USC trailed 69-64 with 33 seconds remaining in regulation after Stanford’s Lukas Kisunas made a layup. The Trojans took over from there.
Okongwu made a layup with 11 seconds remaining, and after a Daejon Davis turnover on the inbound pass, Weaver hit his off-balance 3-pointer while getting fouled by Davis on the play. Weaver missed his free throw that would have given the Trojans the lead.
Despite the free-throw miss, Weaver remained confident in the extra period.
“Just have a short memory and keep playing,” Weaver said, acknowledging that the victory tied USC atop the Pac-12 with Stanford. “We’ll take this game for what it is, a big win, and build off of it. Being No. 1 in anything is big.”
Jonah Mathews scored 19 points and Ethan Anderson added 11 as the Trojans (15-3, 4-1 Pac-12 Conference) won for the ninth time in their past 10 games and improved to 2-0 at home in conference play and 8-1 in their own building this season.
Oscar da Silva scored 21 points and Spencer Jones added 18 as Stanford (15-3, 4-1) lost their first conference game. Tyrell Terry had 16 for the Cardinal.
“They did a nice job, made some adjustments and got our offense to slow down a little bit,” Stanford head coach Jerod Haase said. “Defense rebounding is always important for us, and that was a weakness in that second half. We gotta give them credit.”
Stanford lost for just the second time in its past 10 games with the other defeat to No. 5 Kansas at home.
Okongwu added nine rebounds for the Trojans, who had a 38-31 advantage on the boards.
The Cardinal dominated the first half, closing it on a 7-0 run to take a 45-25 lead into the break. Stanford was and 6 of 10 from 3-point range in the opening 20 minutes.
“In the first half, we didn’t play smart or together,” Okongwu said. “After halftime, we played with more heart. We all had the same mindset, play harder, smarter and with more toughness.”
The Trojans made their move early in the second half with a 15-2 run to cut the deficit to single digits at 48-40. But a 9-2 Stanford run, capped by a 3-pointer from Spencer Jones, put Stanford back up 57-42 midway through the second half.
Another USC run, this one a 12-1 advantage got the Trojans to within 60-56 with 6:25 remaining. They were able to get within 62-60 on a layup by Anderson with 4:47 remaining and refused to go away with a pressure defense that forced 17 turnovers.
Stanford shot 49% from the field to 40% for USC and they still lost. It was the first time in four games the Trojans won a game while getting outshot by their opponent.
No. 8 OREGON 64, WASHINGTON 61, OT
SEATTLE — Payton Pritchard hit his sixth 3-pointer of the game with 3.4 seconds left in overtime and No. 8 Oregon rallied from a 16-point second-half deficit to stun Washington on Saturday.
The Ducks (15-4, 4-2 Pac-12) avoided being swept on their trip north by rallying from a 48-32 deficit with 10:22 remaining in the second half and handed Washington (12-7, 2-4) its third loss in four games.
Pritchard was the extent of Oregon's offense, finishing with 22 points on 7-of-16 shooting. He hit a floater with 1:08 left to give Oregon the lead and provided the winning 3-pointer despite tough defense from Washington's Jamal Bey. Pritchard was able to get just enough space to get the shot clear before the shot clock expired.
Chandler Lawson added 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Ducks, who rebounded from an ugly loss to Washington State on Thursday.
Washington forward Isaiah Stewart, left, and guard Jamal Bey, right, swat away shot attempt by Oregon guard Chris Duarte, center, during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2020, in Seattle. Oregon won 64-61 in overtime. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Isaiah Stewart led Washington with 25 points and 19 rebounds. The freshman was dominant on the interior but didn't get the help he needed from others. Marcus Tsohonis had 12 of his 14 points in the first half, but the Huskies were 0 of 11 on 3-pointers in the second half and overtime, and 14 of 23 at the foul line.
Washington scored just 24 points in the second half and overtime combined.
Stewart opened overtime with a baseline reverse, but it turned out to be Washington's only basket of the extra period.
Lawson scored in the lane with 2:10 left and Pritchard followed with a runner to give Oregon a 61-59 lead, its first since it was 9-7 in the opening minutes. Stewart hit a pair of free throws to tie the game with 49 seconds left. Pritchard forced another deep 3-pointer and missed, but Chris Duarte got the offensive rebound and Pritchard didn't miss given a second opportunity.
Washington led 48-32 with 10:22 remaining in regulation after a pair of free throws by Stewart. Oregon then went on a 15-2 run to get back into the game. Pritchard was the catalyst, hitting Oregon’s first 3-pointer of the second half to get the Ducks within 50-45 and then leaving a perfect pass for Lawson’s dunk to pull them within 50-47 with 4:26 left.
Pritchard later hit a 3 from about 35 feet with 1:08 left to pull Oregon even at 54. Stewart hit a pair of free throws, but Shakur Juiston scored underneath for the Ducks with 17.8 left to tie the game at 56.
Washington's final possession was rushed and Jamal Bey's 3-pointer at the buzzer hit the back rim.
ARIZONA STATE 83, UTAH 64
TEMPE — Rob Edwards scored 24 points, Remy Martin added 20 and Arizona State pulled away to beat Utah.
The Sun Devils (11-7, 2-3 Pac-12) were roughed up in a physical loss to No. 20 Colorado on Thursday and had to fight through a stop-and-start game against the Utes.
Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak was ejected after being hit with consecutive technical fouls and Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley was also T'd up in a tense second half.
The Sun Devils survived the rugged game, building a 14-point lead early in the second half, withstanding a run by Utah and stretching the lead late for a much-needed win.
Utah center Branden Carlson, top, grabs a rebound over Arizona State guard Alonzo Verge during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Jan. 18, 2020, in Tempe, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ralph Freso)
Utah (10-7, 1-4) continued to struggle offensively in the finale of a tough six-game stretch, shooting 6 of 24 from 3-point range.
Timmy Allen had 18 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Utes, who have lost four straight and five of six.
Utah was overrun by Arizona in the first half Thursday night in Tucson, falling into a 24-point halftime hole before losing 93-77.
The Utes struggled from the perimeter in that game and couldn't get much of anything to fall the first half against the Sun Devils.
Struggling against Arizona State's pressure man defense, Utah took numerous difficult shots, several late in the shot clock. The Utes had a scoreless drought of nearly five minutes, shot 8 of 28 from the floor and were 1 for 10 from the 3-point arc.
The good news: they were only down 29-23 at halftime.
The Sun Devils were nearly as disjointed on offense, shooting 12 of 32. Edwards had 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting.
The flow didn't improve much in the second half.
Edwards hit his fourth 3-pointer during a 7-0 run that stretched Arizona State's lead to 39-25. Utah answered, holding the Sun Devils without a field goal for more than five minutes to pull within five.
Arizona State came right back, using a 7-0 run to go up 56-40 with eight minutes left and pulled away.
Golden State Warriors and former Washington State guard Klay Thompson speaks as the school retired his jersey number during halftime of an NCAA college basketball game between Washington State and Oregon State in Pullman, Wash., Saturday, Jan. 18, 2020. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)
WASHINGTON STATE 89, OREGON STATE 76
PULLLMAN, Wash. — Isaac Bonton scored a career-high 34 points and Washington State beat Oregon State on Saturday in front of a packed house that saw Klay Thompson's jersey retired.
Two-time NBA MVP Stephen Curry was in attendance as his Golden State Warriors teammate and fellow “Splash Brother” had his No. 1 jersey hung for perpetuity in the rafters of an unusually raucous Beasley Coliseum.
Thompson was emotional during the halftime ceremony and active on the sidelines throughout the game, fist-pumping and firing up the 10,380 fans. Video tributes to Thompson by his former USA basketball coach, Duke's Mike Krzyzewski, plus former Washington State and current Virginia coach Tony Bennett and Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr were shown.
In three seasons as a starter at Washington State, Thompson played 98 games, averaging 17.9 points per contest. By the time he left after his junior season, he had scored 1,756 points (third in school history) and made what then was a school-record 242 3-pointers. He was the 11th overall pick by the Warriors in the 2011 NBA Draft.
“Each year I was in Pullman I had to grow,” Thompson said. “In my freshman year, I had so many great leaders on our team as far as veterans, you know Daven (Harmeling), Taylor Rochestie was such a great team player, such a great point guard. When they left, I had to kind of step into that spotlight, that main go-to guy role. I took my lumps and had my stumps but those made me so much stronger.”
The arrival of the Splash Brothers in Pullman seemed not only to energize the crowd but also the players of Washington State (12-7, 3-3 Pac 12), who completed their first sweep over the Oregon schools since January 2011 and first home Pac-12 sweep since 2013.
Bonton had his eighth straight double-digit scoring game, shooting 8 of 13 from the field, including four 3-pointers. He also had eight rebounds and eight assists.
CJ Elleby’s 22-point and nine-rebound performance came two days after he scored 25 and had a career-best 14 rebounds game against No. 8 Oregon. Noah Williams had 17 points for the Cougars.
Oregon State (12-6, 2-4 Pac 12) dominated the Cougars inside, winning the battle in the paint 54-32, but gave up 29 fast-break points and couldn’t stop Elleby and Bonton from scoring.
Tres Tinkle had 22 points and Ethan Thompson scored 14 for the Beavers.
In a back-and-forth first half, Washington State went on a 9-0 run with 1:31 remaining to take a 46-40 lead at the break.
In the second, Washington State went on a 10-0 run with 7:33 remaining to take a 69-56 lead. Oregon State responded with a 7-0 run of their own to get within six but that was the closest they got.
