Oregon had all the makings of an upset over league-leading California on Thursday night at Haas Pavilion, but the Ducks couldn’t hold off a late second-half run as the Golden Bears won 86-83 in dramatic fashion.@@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=235&DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=205381246@@
The Ducks (18-8, 9-5 Pac-12) led the entire second half until a pair of Jorge Gutierrez free throws gave Cal (21-6, 11-3) a 76-75 lead with 1:41 remaining in regulation. The lead increased to 83-77 before Oregon’s Devoe Joseph made a three-pointer to make it a one-possession game.
Harper Kamp made two free throws at the line after an E.J. Singler foul, but Joseph answered again with another deep three-pointer to keep the game alive. Cal’s David Kravish split a pair at the foul line, leaving the Ducks 18 seconds to take the game to overtime. @@http://www.calbears.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/cal-m-baskbl-mtt.html@@
Joseph and Singler both got shots off during a chaotic final possession, but neither went down.
With the win, Cal remains in a tie for first place in the Pac-12 standings with Washington after the Huskies defeated Arizona State at home on Thursday night. Meanwhile, Oregon dropped a game behind Arizona, who moved into sole possession of second place with a win over Washington State.
Cal sophomore Justin Cobbs, a former teammate of Joseph’s at Minnesota, scored a career-high 28 points on 13-of-19 shooting to go along with eight assists. Kamp added 20 points and six boards for Cal.
Joseph scored a career-high 33 points on 10-of-17 from the floor, including a 4-of-9 clip from long range. He also made all nine of his free throws. Carlos Emory chipped in 11 points, four rebounds and four assists off the bench.
Despite a relatively sloppy first half — where Oregon committed half of its 22 turnovers — both teams shot well from the floor. The Ducks shot 53.3 percent (16-for-30), while Cal finished the opening 20 minutes with a 50 percent (16-of-32) shooting clip of its own.
Joseph, the fifth-leading score in the Pac-12, scored 21 of his 33 points in the second half. Fellow Toronto native Olu Ashaolu provided a big spark off the bench after a technical midway through the first half, scoring six points and grabbing three rebounds before intermission. He finished with 10 points.
Cal’s Allen Crabbe, who torched Oregon for 26 points on six made three-pointers when the teams last met in Eugene, scored all eight of his points in the first half on 2-for-10 shooting from the floor.
Oregon will be back in action on Sunday when they play Stanford in Maples Pavilion at 7:30 p.m.