Feb. 19, 2012
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STANFORD, Calif. (AP) - E.J. Singler scored 10 consecutive points in the final six minutes, including a go-ahead 3-pointer with 2:45 remaining, and Oregon held on to beat Stanford 68-64 on Sunday night.
Singler finished with 20 points, five rebounds and three assists while Olu Ashaolu added 14 points off the bench for the Ducks (19-8, 10-5 Pac-12), who have won two straight at Maples Pavilion following a 24-game losing streak that dated to 1986.
More importantly, the win moves Oregon into a fourth-place tie with Arizona with three regular-season games remaining. That's critical because the top four teams in the standings receive first-round byes in the Pac-12 tournament.
Josh Owens had 20 points and Dwight Powell scored 11 for Stanford (18-9, 8-7). The Cardinal went scoreless over the final 3:45 after taking a 64-61 lead on Owens' dunk.
Stanford was just 11-22 from the foul line while Oregon finished 8-12.
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STANFORD QUOTES
Stanford Head Coach Johnny Dawkins
On the defeat...
"(It was a) tough, tough loss, and I feel real bad for our group. Give Oregon a lot of credit. They made big plays in crunch time. The young man, E.J. Singler, was terrific. He played a great game."
On whether the free throw misses were the key factor in the result...
"I thought a few things. I thought the free throws (were a factor). By not making the free throws, we didn't build leads, when we had opportunities to build leads. The other thing was, I thought we gave them too many second-chance points. Second-chance points were 16-5 in Oregon's favor. That's big. In a game like this, a two- or three-point lead is huge, when both teams are battling the way they were battling. Those put-backs hurt us, as well as just not being able to build leads from the line."
On the late sequence with 22 seconds left to play...
"(Chasson Randle) was the first option. The first play we ran out of the timeout was (to) Josh Owens. We went to Josh, and it wasn't successful. The next time, we ran it to Chasson, and he got a good shot off. He's made those shots for us this year. He got a rebound, and a chance to drive for another opportunity at it. It's just unfortunate. I feel bad. The young man put himself in position both times to make a great play, and he's made those plays for us this year. I have a lot of confidence in what he can do."
Stanford senior Josh Owens
On how frustrating a loss this was after leading for much of the game...
"It's very frustrating. It's been something that we've been battling throughout the second half of the Pac-12 season. We just couldn't close it out. I wouldn't say that any one play down the stretch really determined the outcome of the game. You look at the second-chance points they had. You look at our free throw shooting. Those are things that are in our control, that we didn't take care of in this game."
On Stanford shooting just 11-of-22 from the foul line...
"It was a four-point game, and shooting 50 percent from the foul line when you shoot 22 free throws, that alone (could have been the difference in the game). But that wasn't the only place that we could have played better."
On where else the team could have played better...
"Rebounding. They had 16 second-chance points, which means that they got some offensive rebounds that we should have had as defensive rebounds."
On the final sequence of the game...
"We executed the play as it was supposed to go. We got an offensive rebound, and then at that point, there are a few seconds left, and that's where you have to clear out and hope someone can get to the basket. Chasson did what he was supposed to do. He was the first option, and we were supposed to have someone roll to the basket. That was the second option. There were three or four options on that play."