The first day of the Pac-10 Tournament came to a close on Wednesday night as the Oregon Ducks and Arizona State Sun Devils duked it out at Staples Center in Los Angeles. The Ducks took a nine-point lead into the half before taking charge in the second, leading by as many as 19 at one point. But Arizona State came roaring back, setting up a closer than expected finish with a late run.
It came down to free throws for the Ducks as Arizona State head coach Herb Sendek chose to extend the game with fouls at the three minute mark. It wasn't enough, however, as Oregon was solid at the line and the Sun Devils were unable to convert a barrage of threes to close the deficit.
E.J. Singler led the way for the Ducks with a game-high 22 points. Malcolm Armstead and Garrett Sim were also in double-figures, scoring 11 and 10 points respectively. Johnathan Loyd added nine points off the bench, connecting on 7-8 free throws. Tyrone Nared had a team-high nine rebounds and Armstead added five assists.
Trent Lockett matched Singler step-for-step, equaling the Oregon forward's game-high 22 points for the Sun Devils. Lockett also finished with a team-high five rebounds and five assists in the loss. Rihard Kuksiks and Jamelle McMillan added 11 points apiece, as well. The Arizona State bench was active all night, with six reserves logging significant minutes and combining to score 23 points.
Oregon gets back to work on Thursday evening against the UCLA Bruins at 6:00 p.m. in the third of four quarterfinal matchups.
First round: Wednesday, March 9
No. 9 Oregon State Beavers def. No. 8 Stanford Cardinal, 69-67
No. 7 Oregon Ducks def No. 10 Arizona State Sun Devils, 76-60
Quarterfinals: Thursday, March 10
No. 4 USC Trojans vs. No. 5 California Golden Bears, noon, FSN
No. 1 Arizona Wildcats vs. Oregon State, 2:30, FSN
No. 2 UCLA Bruins vs. Oregon, 6 p.m., FSN
No. 3 Washington Huskies vs. No. 6 Washington State Cougs, 8:30 p.m., FSN
Semifinals: Friday, March 11
USC/California vs. Arizona/Stanford/Oregon State, 6 p.m., FSN
UCLA/Oregon/Arizona State vs. Washington/Washington State, 8:30 p.m., FSN
Finals: Saturday, March 12
Semifinal winners, 3 p.m., CBS
For more on the tournament, including the latest news and bracket updates, check out the rest of our 2011 Pac-10 tournament StoryStream.