Cagers sink Cal — barely
Photo by Mark Pynes
Blair Rasmussen skies over Cal's Michael Pitts to get two of his 19 points to lead the
Ducks to a 69-67 overtime win Rasmussen was high for the Ducks, while Pitts led the
way for the Bears with 12 points
f
Oregon wins in OT, 69-67
By John Healy
Of th« Emerald
It's trite and it's been used time and
time again, but it fits Oregon to a tee
Call them the Never-say-die-Ducks ."
Thursday night in Mac Court, before
4,334 die-hard fans, Oregon clawed
back from a nine-point deficit with six
minutes remaining in regulation time to
claim a breathless 69-67 overtime win
over California in both team's Pac-10
opener
"You have to credit Oregon for hang
ing tough and coming back like they
did." said Cal coach Dick Kuchen
Credit good marksmanship from the
field in the second half — Oregon shot
619 percent — and some amazing free
throw shooting — the Ducks were nine
for-nine from the line in overtime — as
factors in Oregon s fifth win of the sea
son
And don't forget intensity
"I feel like I just spent two hours in the
dentist s chair, said Oregon coach Jim
Haney, looking a bit drained after
watching his Ducks play their fourth
consecutive nail-biter
"We got lucky tonight if we give that
kind of performance again we won t win
a basketball game in our conference "
For over 35 minutes, every bounce,
every twist of fate seemed to elude the
Ducks
Oregon shot a dismal .261 percent
from the field in the first half. The Ducks'
leading scorer and rebounder, David
Brantley, picked up three quick fouls and
was limited to 11 minutes. Even when he
played, he appeared tentative
And, after turning around a 10-4 deficit
and forging into a 15-10 lead with 8:33
remaining in the first half, the Ducks dug
themselves into a hole and Cal into a
52-43 lead with 6:02 left in the game.
Don't give all the credit to the Ducks.
Pass along a helping to Cal center Mi
chael Pitts, who used a soft turnaround
jumper to register 12 points in the
second half.
But as inept as the Ducks appeared,
the Bears — with the exception of Pitts —
seemed intent on matching the Ducks
ineptness stride for stride. Cal committed
20 turnovers for the game — the same as
Oregon — and shot a poor .470 from the
field.
This game came down to the last seven
minutes of regulation play and the first
two minutes of the overtime period, nine
minutes for the teams to decide "Who
wants this game?”
The Ducks registered the loudest "We
do.”
“In the last seven minutes and the
overtime period, we came back and ex
ecuted,” said Oregon forward Jerry
Adams, who pulled down six rebounds
and effectively shut down Pitts in those
critical nine minutes.
This was almost a replay of the Ducks
loss to Idaho in the semifinals of the Far
West Classic in Portland in late
December, a loss in which Oregon man
aged to turn a four-point lead with 1:03
remaining into a 56-53 defeat
Except on Thursday night. Cal wore
the Ducks colors
They did what we have done," ex
plained Haney You get ahead, pull the
ball out. and get passive "
Cal did just that in the final minutes,
and when forward David Brantley, who
tallied 19 points, canned a pair of free
throws with 2:37 left to cut Cal's lead to
52-49. Oregon looked like it had a
chance
Cal's Butch Hays and Oregon's Paul
Bain traded free throws, and after Bob
Owen could hit only the front end of a
one-and-one — and Rasmussen came up
with the rebound — Oregon got a bucket
that Brantley launched from the free
throw line
At that point, Oregon trailed 55-53 with
1 23 remaining Hays could manage only
one of two free throws after being fouled
by Gatewood, and Adams came down
with the rebound Gatewood took a rain
bow-scraping jumper from 18 feet at the
other end to cut Cai s iead to 5o-55.
Then, with 48 seconds remaining,
came a play that was a microcosm of
Oregon's "never-say-die” attitude in the
last few minutes.
Hays fed Cal forward Frank Avalos on
the baseline, and after blowing by Adams
and expecting an easy layin, he found
himself face-to-face with the 7-foot Ras
mussen The result was a charging foul
on Avalos and a critical turnover for the
Bears.
Finally, with 26 seconds remaining.
Brantley turned around near the free
throw line and launched a shot directed
somewhere in the vicinity of Mac Court's
south bleachers But Cal forward Darrell
Haley got caught trying to take home a
piece of Brantley, and the Oregon junior
managed to hit one of two free throws to
tie the game and send it into overtime.
After that, the Ducks breezed, as
Gatewood hit a 15-foot jumper after
Brantley stripped Pitts of the ball, and
then Rasmussen converted an offensive
rebound into a three-point play and a
61-56 Oregon lead with 2:47 left in over
time.
"It feels good to win," said Brantley,
"but we didn't play as well as we should
have."
Part of the problem seemed to be
Oregon's lack of intensity, something
Haney pointed to as being caused by
Oregon's almost fanatical intensity at the
Classic.
“The classic was such an emotional
time,” said Haney. "We had good prac
tices on the 31st (of December) and on
the 1st and 3rd (of January), but in the
last couple days we looked like a team
that lost its zip.
Except for nine minutes at the very
end.
1
Ducks lose pivot battle, drop to Aztecs
SAN DIEGO — The battle of the big
centers was won by San Diego State s
Judy Porter Thursday night, and so was
the game as the Aztecs outscored the
Ducks down the stretch to claim a
79-71 women's basketball victory in
San Diego
Porter, a first-team All-American pre
season selection, netted 21 points, 11
of which came at the free throw line.
Porter was able to top Oregon center
Alison Lang despite connecting on only
five of 13 shots from the floor Lang
sank nine of her 11 field goal attempts
to lead the Ducks with 18 points.
Both teams connected on 45 percent
of their field goal attempts, but Oregon
lost at the free throw line where the
Aztecs outscored the Ducks by 12.
The Ducks played come-from-behind
basketball most of the game. Oregon
trailed by a small margin throughout the
game and was down 37-36 at the half.
But the Ducks managed to pull ahead
with just under four minutes to play,
69-67.
Turnovers, and missed shot oppor
tunities did the Ducks in though, as San
Diego State came back with eight un
answered points to earn the victory.
The win raised the Aztecs record to
6-5 on the season, while the Ducks fell
to 5-7
In addition to her 21 points, Porter
hauled down 13 rebounds. The senior
center, who matches Lang in height at
6-3, got help in the scoring column from
guard Marci Blackman, who scored 16
points, connecting on eight of 11 field
goals.
The Aztecs had two other players in
double figures. Forward Heidi Bauer
tallied 12 points, while reserve Renee
Overton came off the bench to score
12.
Despite the loss, Oregon's front line
made its presence felt. In addition to
Lang's 18 points, the 6-3 center added
10 rebounds, six blocked shots and five
assists. Forward Helen Higgs was also
a force as she scored 16 points, pulled
down 13 rebounds and blocked four
shots. Oregon also got a solid effort
from forward Chris Metzger who col
lected 14 points and nine rebounds.
But for all the firepower up front, the
Ducks still came up short in the back
court, where the lack of an experienced
ballhandler has hurt them all season.
The Ducks finished the game with 22
turnovers. Overton led the Aztecs with
six steals, while Porter came up with
four.
Oregon returns to action tonight
against Pepperdine, a team which will
present similar problems to San Diego
State, with its pressing defense The
Ducks wrap up the California trip with a
contest with Cal-lrvine Sunday after
noon.