Dean Knuth / arizona daily star

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STANFORD, Calif. — In the rough, competitive world of Pac-10 basketball, Arizona was bound to run into nights like these.

It's just that Arizona's off-shooting night and subsequent 56-52 loss to Stanford on Thursday came when the Wildcats needed a conference win badly: They are now 1-3 in conference play heading into a game Saturday at California.

"This one puts us in a little bit of a hole," UA interim head coach Kevin O'Neill said.

But it didn't have to be this way. The UA could have shot more than 37.5 percent from the field. It could have gotten two free throws, instead of none, from Nic Wise with 46 seconds left. It could have gotten a 15-foot jumper from Jerryd Bayless, the hero in a win at Houston on Saturday, instead of another zero with nine seconds left.

It could have won. Easily.

That's what was eating away at O'Neill the most. He didn't complain about Brook Lopez's 19 points and five blocks for Stanford. Nor did he have many turnovers to fret about: UA had only 10.

It was just the UA's 21-of-56 mark from the field, and 4 of 13 three-point shooting, that stood out to him.

"It really came down to shot-making," O'Neill said. "We had a bunch of good looks. It's unfortunate that we've had two (Pac-10) road games in a row like this."

Those two games were split by a 85-71 win at Houston, when Bayless went off for 33 points on 7-for-13 shooting.

On Thursday, Bayless was held to just nine points on 3-of-12 shooting, saying his right ankle had problems adjusting to a new shoe in the first half. He changed the shoe at halftime, but was not able to do the same for his luck, making just 1 of 6 shots after halftime.

"I just couldn't get in a rhythm in the first half because of my ankle," Bayless said. "It was just one of those nights."

Bayless' last miss was the most glaring, a 15-foot jumper that missed with nine seconds left and Stanford leading 54-52. After that, the Wildcats were forced to foul, sending Fred Washington to the line to hit two free throws that sealed Stanford's win.

"I'm glad he did" miss, Stanford coach Trent Johnson said of Bayless. "He's a hell of a player."

For Johnson, the game's randomness was not just limited to Bayless' miss. It was also that Washington hit the final free throws.

"It was sort of ironic for us that Fred Washington, who was 0 for 6 at the line at Oregon, made two free throws to win it for us," Johnson said.

With Bayless off, Wise and Chase Budinger each had 13 points to lead Arizona.

The loss dropped the UA to 11-6 overall. Stanford improved to 14-3 and 3-2, snapping the Wildcats' six-game winning streak over the Cardinal.

Lopez gave the Cardinal a 54-52 lead with 1:56 left but, after the UA failed to score on its next possession, Stanford guard Mitch Johnson threw the ball out of bounds to give it back to the UA.

Wise then missed a pair of free throws with 47 seconds left, shaking his head quietly afterward when asked about them.

"Everybody missed free throws but we needed them," Wise said.

Both teams failed again to score and the UA attempted a long pass to Wise on the break to tie it with 11 seconds left, but the ball went out of bounds, off Johnson and the Wildcats retained possession.

But after an inbound pass, Bayless put up a 15-foot jumper that missed and the Wildcats were forced to foul. Washington then hit two free throws to seal the game at 56-52 with five seconds left.

Lawrence Hill hit a three-pointer to give Stanford a 52-50 lead with four minutes left. Hill has been struggling lately but the Glendale product entered the game averaging 10.6 points on 48.7-percent shooting in five previous games against the Wildcats.

But Stanford failed to extend the lead when both Johnson and Taj Finger missed the front end of one-and-ones, and the UA's Jordan Hill made a hook shot to tie the game at 52 with 2:19 left.

Arizona trailed 33-26 at halftime but went on a 17-4 run early in the second half, eventually taking their first lead of the game, 41-40, when Bayless scored with 14:09 left.

The UA then went ahead 45-42 on a 10-footer from Bret Brielmaier but Stanford rattled off seven straight points to gain the lead back and the game remained close the rest of the way.

In the first half, Lopez dominated.

Lopez blocked the UA's Jawann McClellan and Budinger on UA's first possession of the game, and Stanford blocked five shots for the half. Lopez also wound up with nine points, while helping draw two fouls against Hill, who managed to play only nine minutes because of the foul trouble.

Stanford also shot 63.6 percent from the field while the UA made just 32.3 percent of its field goals in the first half.

But the early lineup change didn't stop the UA's usual slow-starting pattern.

The Wildcats missed their first eight shots and were scoreless on their first five possessions while Stanford built a 5-0 lead.

The Cardinal went on to twice build 10-point leads, 24-14 and 29-19, though Budinger made a three-pointer that cut the Stanford lead to 31-24.

O'Neill did not start Brielmaier, who is returning from a re-aggravated right shoulder sprain, but inserted him immediately upon Hill's second foul of the first half at the 10:54 mark. O'Neill has consistently pulled Hill after he picks up two fouls in the first half, resting him until halftime.

However, O'Neill did not use Kirk Walters in the first half, inserting him only in the second half with 11:43 remaining.