Ducks pull away to beat Beavers

Joseph Young scored 15 of his 19 points in the second half and Oregon pulled away for an 88-74 victory over Oregon State in the first round of the Pac-12 tournament in Las Vegas on Wednesday.

The 342nd meeting between the Civil War rivals was their first in the Pac-12 tournament and carried plenty of implications for Oregon’s NCAA tournament chances.

The defending tournament champion Ducks (23-8) came through after a shaky start, relying on their depth and superb second-half shooting to earn a spot in Today’s quarterfinals against second-seeded UCLA.

Jason Calliste scored 17 points and Oregon hit 16 of 20 shots in the second half for its eighth straight win.

The Ducks outscored Oregon State 46-6 off the bench and made 10 of 16 from 3-point range.

Angus Brandt scored 20 points and Roberto Nelson had 19 in what was likely their final game with the Beavers (16-15).

Colorado 59, USC 56: Askia Booker scored 21 points and keyed a late run, leading Colorado to a 59-56 win over scrappy Southern California in the opening round of the conference tournament in Las Vegas.

Their NCAA tournament hopes still up in the air, the Buffaloes could not afford a loss to the last-place Trojans.

Despite beating USC twice during the regular season, Colorado (22-10) had a hard time shaking the Trojans, unable to get much separation until going on a 13-1 run late in the second half.

USC (11-21) still had a shot at the end, but Byron Wesley’s 3-pointer at the buzzer came up just short.

Josh Scott had 13 points and Xavier Johnson added 11 for the Buffaloes, who move on to face California in Thursday’s quarterfinals.

Wesley finished with 23 points for the Trojans, who kept it close despite going 5 of 22 from 3-point range.