
Oregon State Ousts Stanford, 69-67, Advances in Pac-10 Tournament
March 09, 2011 | Men's Basketball
March 9, 2011
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LOS ANGELES (AP) - Jared Cunningham tied a career-high with 24 points, Devon Collier had a career-high 19 points and Joe Burton added a career-high 14 rebounds to lead Oregon State to a thrilling 69-67 win over Stanford in the opening round of the Pac-10 Tournament at the Staples Center on Wednesday.
It's the Beavers (11-19) first win in the Pac-10 Tournament since they defeated Arizona State, 71-68, on March 8, 2006. Oregon State advances to the quarterfinals to play No. 16 Arizona at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday at the Staples Center.
"I can't tell you how excited we are to have our first Pac-10 tournament win as a team in this era of Oregon State basketball," Oregon State head coach Craig Robinson said. "It's been awhile and it sure feels good. That was a toughness win; a gutsy win. They made plays when they had to."
Cunningham set Pac-10 Tournament records with 15 free throws made and 20 free throws attempted and made several clutch free throws in the final minute when Stanford kept making shots to cut the score to a one possession game.
The sophomore guard, who was named to the Pac-10 All-Defensive Team on Monday, made a huge defensive play at the end of the game when he blocked a three-point attempt by Jeremy Green that would have given Stanford the win.
"I saw Ahmad (Starks) guarding the half-court, so I just tried to go over and double team them and knock a shot off and put my hand up and block the shot," Cunningham said. "The ball went out of bounds in time, and we got the win."
Burton and Collier were beasts under the basket for the Beavers as the tandem constantly went for rebounds and loose balls. Burton had 10 rebounds at halftime and finished with his career-high 14 boards, while Collier had a career-high 19 points and added eight rebounds and made 7-of-11 free throw attempts.
Burton played 38 minutes in the game and has played 77 minutes the past two games after playing 39 in the regular season finale against Arizona State. He also had six assists and only one turnover in the game.
Ahmad Starks got off to a hot start for the Beavers with two three-pointers early in the game to give Oregon State a 10-point lead in the first half. The freshman guard finished with 15 points and made 3-of-6 from the three-point line.
The Beavers are 0-4 all-time against Arizona in the Pac-10 Tournament but have won three of the past four games against the Wildcats.