TUCSON, March 8 (UPI) -- Playing in his final game at the McKale Center, Jason Gardner scored 21 of his 27 points in the second half Saturday as the top-ranked Arizona Wildcats rallied to defeat the Oregon Ducks, 88-80.
It was Arizona's 10th straight win and virtually clinched a No. 1 ranking at the end of the regular season.
"It's very satisfying to go out in my last game, hearing the fans chanting my name," Gardner said. "It was a great way to go out, a great feeling. It's kind of sad to be my last game here, but we still got a long road in front of us."
"Jason was just on fire," said fellow senior Rick Anderson, who had four points. "His heart, his attitude, his desire to win is so good."
Oregon held a three-point edge at halftime and a 54-49 advantage after a layup by Matt Short with 13 minutes remaining. But the Wildcats countered with a 17-2 burst over the next 6 1/2 minutes. They took the lead for good at 58-56 on an alley-oop dunk by freshman Hassan Adams on a feed from Gardner with 9:17 to play.
Salim Stoudamire scored 19 points and Channing Frye added 13 for the Wildcats (25-2, 17-1 Pac-10), who also won 10 straight games from Dec. 28-Jan. 25 before a home loss to Stanford. Arizona has not lost since.
"Finishing 17-1 in the conference is a great accomplishment for them," said Arizona Coach Lute Olson of his senior class. "Now we have to make sure we don't tire ourselves out in Los Angeles (in next week's Pac-10 Tournament) and take it one game at a time. I think that we are ready to make our move."
Luke Ridnour contributed 26 points and Luke Jackson 12 for Oregon (20-9, 10-8), which has lost back-to-back games and may be in jeopardy of earning a spot in the NCAA Tournament. The Ducks had won four of their previous six matchups against the Wildcats.
"It was tough on us because we left some baskets on the floor," said Oregon Coach Ernie Kent. "Energy-wise, we played well, but we missed a lot of tough shots. We had too many turnovers in the paint today."
The Ducks committed 20 turnovers and had just 12 assists, while the Wildcats had 18 assists and 10 giveaways.
