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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 6, 1983)
Sports Stingy Ducks face Bears By John Healy Of the Emerald Can a basketball team in the Pac-10 conference go from the league's defensive cellar to be ing the stingiest defensive team in the conference? Yes, if you listen to the stats that Oregon has been piling up in its nine preseason games. The Ducks open their confer ence season at home tonight in McArthur Court against the California Golden Bears, then get one night of rest before fac ing Stanford on Saturday night But don't expect Cal to put 91 points on the board, as they did in their first game against Oregon last winter Oregon is giving up a paltry 50 0 points per game this year, 31.2 points per game less than they allowed last winter And, after a third-place finish in the Far West Classic in Port land in late December which included a win over highly regarded Lamar, it appears the Ducks have not only a stingy defense, but a truckload of momentum to carry them into tonight’s 7:35 p m contest with the Bears "After the emotional loss to Idaho, our players went beyond David Brantley what they thought they were capable of against Lamar." says fifth-year Oregon coach Jim Haney "They feel better about themselves heading into the conference season Oregon will need that con fidence against the Bears Cal coach Dick Kuchen has im proved the Bears record in every season since he took the Cal coaching job in 1978. guid ing the Bears from a 6-21 mark in his first year to a 14-13 record last winter. Although Kuchen welcomed back three starters from last year's squad when Cal opened its season in November, he is without the services of the Pac-10's leading scorer last year. Mark McNamara The 6-11 all-Pac-10 center, who has gone onto the NBA. led the conference in scoring (22 0), rebounding (12 6) and field goal percentage (70 2) His loss has forced the Bears to rely heavily on their back court, which features returning starters Michael Chavez (15 5 points per game) and Butch Hays (10 6 points) The Bears aren’t completely lacking at center, as 6-11 Mi chael Pitts is averaging 16 0 points and 7.1 rebounds per game after sitting out last year because of knee surgery But at forward, the Bears are thin, having lost starters Wes Howell and Sam Potter Cal is 4-3 going into tonight's game with Oregon Oregon out to plunder Aztecs An experienced San Diego State lineup will welcome the Oregon women back to basketball competition Thursday after a two week holiday layoff when the Aztecs host the Ducks The Ducks, 5-6, will be attempting to lift their mark back to the .500 level Oregon upended UCLA 74-59 at McArthur Court on Dec 23 in their last outing after dropping two of three games at the Giusti Tournament of Champions in Portland The Aztecs, 5-5, are led by 6-3 senior center Judy Porter who was selected a preseason first team All-American by Women s Basketball Year book Porter is averaging 25 1 points and 116 rebounds a game for the Aztecs Oregon counters with its own 6-3 center in Alison Lang, who was named Northern Pacific Conference Athlete of the Month for her play in December Lang leads the conference in scoring, blocked shots and rebounding, and is in the top-10 in field goal percentage, free throw per centage, and assists Her 25 3 scoring rate is the fifth best in the nation, and she is averaging 4 6 blocked shots and 11 6 rebounds per game Oregon Coach Elwin Heiny is hoping that he can use Lang, along with Helen Higgs, Chris Metzger, and Gale Gatchell, to find success inside against the Aztecs, who like to run. Heiny is also concerned with the Aztecs pressing defense. The Ducks have struggled against the press at times this season. ‘We hope not to let the press bother us," Heiny said before the Ducks left on a three game road trip which includes stops at Pepperdine Friday and Cal-lr vine Sunday. "We want three victories,” the coach said. “Any game on the road is tough We are going to have to play good basketball ” Duck matmen lose on road Cal State-Bakersfield gave Oregon a rude welcoming Wed nesday night, drilling the Duck matmen 36-5 in dual meet ac tion in the California city The Ducks managed just one win and a draw as they watched their dual meet record fall to 3-5, while Bakersfield improved to 9-5. It was the Ducks’ second loss in three outings on their current California swing Oregon's only winner was junior Rick O'Shea, who decisioned Bakersfield's Troy Osborne 7-3 in the 150 pound match. The only other bright spot for the Ducks came when sophomore Charles Nutter and Bakersfield's Bob Dutton bat tled to a 3-3 draw in the 167 pound contest The Ducks started poorly with Mike Erb, Miles Hancock, and Tim Curtiss suffering big defeats in the first three matches Lorenzo West came up with one of the better efforts, dropping a 6-4 decision to Ba kersfield's Jessie Reyes at 142. Oregon Dally Emerald ☆ TUNE-UPS ☆ BRAKES ☆ FUEL INJECTION mase certified general mechanic PHONE 485-8226 1917 FRANKLIN CLOSE TO CAMPUS 1 This Weekend Ski Bachelor With Us! Every Thursday and Saturday Bus Transportation departs from Mac Court every Thursday and Saturday for Mt. Bachelor at 6:15 a.m. Reserved tickets required and available for purchase at the EMU main desk. Price is $15.00 round trip. E I Darren Berg Tour Corp. Skiing charter specialists PO Box 11325 Eugene. OR 97401-3525 PUC-AF-199423 Page 5
