Payton Pritchard, No. 9 Oregon Escape No. 24 Arizona's Upset Bid in OT Thriller

Payton Pritchard dropped 18 points, seven rebounds, six assists and three steals as No. 9 Oregon survived a scare from visiting No. 24 Arizona in a 74-73 overtime victory on Thursday in Matthew Knight Arena.

Pritchard was Oregon's hero on both ends. His jumper with 29 seconds in regulation capped a 6-0 Ducks run to tie the game at 66. On defense, he blocked a potential game-winning shot from Zeke Nnaji in the closing seconds to send the game into overtime.

Will Richardson was Oregon's star in overtime, scoring all but one of the Ducks' eight points. His jumper with 17 seconds left gave UO a 74-73 lead.

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Knockout punch. 壘@_will1k scored 7 points in OT to send No. 9 @OregonMBB to a 74-73 win over No. 24 Arizona in a #Pac12Hoops heavyweight bout. pic.twitter.com/60TDdyYQpi

— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) January 10, 2020"

That set up a heartbreaking final possession for Arizona. Richardson blocked a Dylan Smith layup with 10 seconds left, and Nico Mannion's try six seconds later did not connect. Still, Arizona maintained possession and had a chance for the win in the closing moments, but Pritchard got a steal off an inbounds pass.

Richardson had 21 points, five boards and four dimes off the Oregon bench. Chris Duarte had 17 points and eight boards.

Mannion led four Arizona Wildcats in double digits with 20 points. Nnaji had an 11-point, 14-rebound double-double, and Josh Green scored 17.

Arizona led wire-to-wire in the first half and even took a 32-22 lead. Oregon stormed back, however, and closed the first half on a 12-4 run to trail just 36-34 entering the midgame break.

Both teams went back and forth in the second half, but Nnaji scored six points in a 9-0 Arizona run to give the Wildcats a 66-60 edge.

Oregon eventually held serve at home, however, and moved to 13-3 overall and 2-1 in Pac-12 play. The 11-4 Wildcats are 1-1 in conference action.

Notable Performances

Arizona G Nico Mannion: 20 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists

Arizona G Josh Green: 17 points, 5 rebounds

Arizona F Zeke Nnaji: 11 points, 14 rebounds, 2 blocks

Oregon G Will Richardson: 21 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists

Oregon G Chris Duarte: 17 points, 8 rebounds

Oregon G Payton Pritchard: 18 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals

Will Richardson Carries Oregon in Extra Session

It's hard to characterize any game in early January as a "must-win," but the Ducks found themselves in an unideal spot entering the Arizona contest.

They fell to Colorado in their Pac-12 opener before surviving a scare against unranked Utah two days later. A loss to Arizona on Thursday would have put Oregon at 1-2 in conference play and given one of the league's top contenders for the regular-season crown a leg up on the Ducks heading into the rest of the Pac-12 schedule.

But Richardson had other ideas in overtime.

The sophomore guard went on a personal 5-0 run thanks to a two-pointer and an and-1 layup to give Oregon a 71-68 lead.

Mannion responded with a three-pointer to tie the game at 71. A Pritchard free throw put the Ducks back on top, but Arizona then bounced back with a Green layup with 24 seconds left.

Before you could blink, the Ducks flew down the court and set up Richardson for the game-winning jumper. Tough defense on the other end sealed the win.

Richardson is the X-factor for Oregon's success this season. Having a player coming off the bench who's easily capable of dropping 20 or more points against a Top 25 team isn't a luxury most teams possess. But he can fill that role and help bail the Ducks out of tough situations like the one they found themselves in on Thursday.

He's also smart and fearless, as evidenced by postgame comments about the game-winning bucket (h/t Matt Prehm of 247Sports):

The sophomore got great reviews for his work, with Andrew G. Hauber of KEZI 9 NEWS and Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports providing two examples:

The Ducks have enjoyed NCAA tournament success over the past few years, with an appearance in the 2017 Final Four serving as their high-water mark.

But in a year filled with weekly Top 25 chaos, a return to that round is possible because of players like Richardson who can get hot at a moment's notice and take over a game.

What's Next?

Arizona will visit Oregon State on Saturday at 10 p.m. ET in Gill Coliseum in Corvallis. Oregon will host Arizona State on Saturday at 10:30 p.m.