In overtime games, experienced players need to step up — or so go the cliches.

In the Ducks’ 80-77, extra-session win over Washington — their third of the year over the archrivals to the north — that player was Arsalan Kazemi, who took over single-handedly, scoring 11 of his 14 points after the end of the second half.

The flip side to that math, however, is that he notched only three points in the first 40 minutes of play, leading to much more time on the bench for him and an increased workload for Ben Carter. Kazemi’s three-point outing came after less-than-stellar nights against Colorado and Utah, too, but Oregon head coach Dana Altman said he hadn’t lost faith in him.

“While I was sitting on the bench,” Kazemi said, “I was just hoping, hoping he would put me back in the game.”

Altman did go with him in overtime — and it paid off.

“I thought he played his tail off,” Altman said. “Took the ball to the basket, made some free throws, got us some big boards. I thought overtime was the best five minute period, no doubt.”

Kazemi didn’t just score nine points in overtime — he scored nine-straight points for the Ducks, setting them up on a 9-2 run that allowed the team to take control of the game. Included in the run was a fast-break dunk where he took a behind-the-back pass from Johnathan Loyd. It was a reminder of how good the Ducks have looked at times this season, but these types of points were a rarity for Oregon on the night.

The win sets Oregon up to play Utah Friday at 8:30 p.m. after the latter upset Cal earlier on Thursday.