LOS ANGELES — UCLA got Reeves Nelson back just in time.
A week ago at Arizona, the Bruins blew a 14-point lead and lost without their tough-nosed freshman.
He returned Thursday after missing four games, scoring 19 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in UCLA’s 75-69 victory over the Wildcats, a Pac-10 Conference tournament quarterfinal between two powerhouses that once ruled the league but have struggled this season.
The loss virtually ended Arizona’s nation-best streak of 25 consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, though with a winning record, the Wildcats could land in the NIT.
“Unfortunately, it’s not the NCAA tournament, but we’re going to take what we can get,” junior Jamelle Horne said.
The Bruins (14-17) still have a shot at trying to improve what is their worst record since 2003-04, Howland’s first season in Westwood. They advanced to a semifinal today against top-seeded California.
Nic Wise scored 16 points and Derrick Williams added 14 for Arizona (16-15), which lost in the quarterfinals for the third consecutive year.
Stanford 70, Arizona State 61
LOS ANGELES — Jeremy Green scored 18 points, Landry Fields added 17 and Stanford surprised second-seeded Arizona State.
The No. 7 Cardinal (14-17) advanced to today’s semifinals against No. 3 Washington.
Arizona State (22-10) swept the Cardinal during the regular season for the first time since 2004-05. But on Thursday the Sun Devils led just once — by one point early in the second half. Rihards Kuksiks scored 15 points, all in the first half, before he fouled out in the closing seconds.
Stanford immediately grabbed the lead back for good, running up a 15-point advantage on a 3-pointer by Fields with 11:43 remaining. It capped eight straight points by the first-team All-Pac-10 senior.
Cal 90, Oregon 74
LOS ANGELES — Jerome Randle scored 22 points without missing a shot in the first half, and top-seeded California easily advanced to the Pac-10 tournament semifinals with a victory over Oregon.
Patrick Christopher had 21 points and five assists for the Golden Bears (22-9), who followed up their first outright conference title in a half-century by sending home the weary Ducks (16-16) in what could be coach Ernie Kent’s final game.
Randle went 8 for 8 with four 3-pointers in the first half, staking Cal to a 15-point lead. Jamal Boykin then scored all 15 of his points in the second half to finish the eighth-seeded Ducks, who were taken to overtime by Washington State in their first-round game Wednesday night. Cal faces UCLA today.
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