BearTalk

 Tajuan Porter scored 32 points and eighth-seeded Oregon (16-15) outlasted No. 9 Washington State 82-80 in overtime and will face Cal in Thursday’s quarterfinal-round Pac-10 tournament game.

 Porter scored eight of the Ducks’ 10 points in overtime, including two go-ahead free throws with 35 seconds left. The senior guard’s point total equaled the fourth-highest in Pac-10 tournament history.

Freshman E.J. Singler forced overtime by scoring on a tip-in with 2 seconds left in regulation.

Oregon, which beat the Cougars three times this season, made all10 of its free throws while WSU (16-15) shot just 12-for-25 from the line.

Klay Thompson led WSU with 20 points, including 6-for-9 from the 3-point arc. The Cougars were 10-for-21 from deep.

AROUND THE PAC-10

Today’s Pac-10 tournament schedule at Staples Center (all games on CSNBA) . . .

– No. 4 Arizona (16-14, 10-8) vs. UCLA (13-17, 8-10), 12:10 p.m.: The Wildcats need to win the tournament in order to extend their 25-year NCAA Tournament run; the Bruins are hoping to avoid just their third losing season since 1948. Arizona, which has won its past three games, swept the season series with UCLA.

– No. 1 Cal (21-9, 13-5) vs. No. 8 Oregon ( 16-15, 7-11), 2:40 p.m.: The Bears have won four straight for the first time this season and seven of their past eight games, all of them by double-digit margins. Cal swept the season series with the Ducks.

– No. 2 Arizona State (22-9, 12-6) vs. No. 7 Stanford (13-17, 7-11), 6 p.m.: The Sun Devils, rated No. 54 in the RPI computer, may still need another win (or more) to secure an NCAA bid. ASU won both games against Stanford, but the Cardinal actually outscored the Devils 113-102 over three-plus halves since falling behind 54-17 late in the first half of their first meeting. 

– No. 3 Washington (21-9, 11-7) vs. No. 6 Oregon State (14-16, 8-10), 8:40 p.m.: The Huskies have won four straight away from home after starting the season with seven straight losses outside Seattle. UW swept the season series, including an 82-70 victory last Saturday in Corvallis. Ranked No. 50 in the RPI and winners of four straight games, how many more victories do the Huskies need to wiggle into the NCAA field?

LOCAL HEROES

Big Sky Player of the Year Damian Lillard (Oakland HS)  scored 16 points but turned the ball over with 2.6 seconds left in Weber State’s 66-65 loss to visiting Montana in the championship game of the Big Sky tournament. Old OAL rival Will Cherry (Oakland-McClymonds HS) got the decisive tie-up that gave Montana the ball on the alternating possession . . . Cory Higgins (Danville-Monte Vista HS) had 18 points, four rebounds and three steals, but Colorado lost 82-67 to Texas Tech in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament. Higgins has climbed to No. 9 on Colorado’s career scoring list with 1,391 points.