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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 13, 1984)
- sports_ Ducks turn on the burners, rip USC Oregon's Chris Harper snuck past USC's Clayton Olivier but missed this layup Thursday night. Ducks didn't miss much else, though, demolishing the Trojans 80-49 at McArthur Court. 63-percent shooting keys 80-49 romp By Doug Levy Of the Emerald If nothing else, the University of Southern California can plead bad timing after Thursday night's 80-49 thrashing at the hands of Oregon's basketball team at McArthur Court. Oregon's laugher was its biggest Pac-10 win since a 92-61 shellacking of Washington State back in the 1973-74 season. The Ducks, now 2-1 in conference and 7-6 overall, had laid a goose egg against Notre Dame a night earlier on national television, and they came out looking like demons against the Trojans, 1-2 and 6-10. The result was a game that became a rout three minutes after halftime. ... "Tonight, we were a little upset with ourselves," said Oregon center Blair Rasmussen, who paced a balanced scoring attack with 15 points. "We had something to prove after last night." The Ducks proved a lot in this game. They proved they can rebound, they proved they can run an effective fast break, and they proved they can shoot again after laying down bricks against the Irish. Oregon was 30 of 48 from the field against USC, a .625 clip, and that was enough to give Tro jan coach Stan Morrison nightmares. "They shot the ball so very well it made us press emotionally," said Morrison. "I thought Oregon played with incredible confidence. You could see it in their eyes." The Ducks sprinted to a 17-8 cushion over USC, upped the margin to 32-22 at halftime, and blew the Trojans out of the water in the second half. "Obviously, tonight was a much better night for us," said Oregon coach Don Monson. ' We were more active pushing the ball up the court and running the break tonight — I couldn't be more pleased." Monson couldn't help but be tickled to death with his team's performance after intermission. In a three-minute span, Oregon turned a 10-point game into a 15-point game, Gary Gatewood's outside jumper putting the Ducks up 39-24 with 16:57 to go. It got worse after that. Oregon pushed its ad vantage to 41-24 with 16:07 to play, 49-28 with 11:42 left and 61-36 at the 5:20 mark after Greg Trapp ex tended himself tor a tremendous dunk that drew raves from a crowd of 6,976. Trapp scored 10 points and also grabbed 10 rebounds to help Oregon pile up a 37-21 reboun ding pad, while Gatewood (12 points) and Chris Harper joined Rasmussen on the double figure list. And it certainly didn't hurt to have Mike Matheson back in the lineup after a virus forced him to miss Wednesday's game. Unfortunately, the Ducks won't face another USC Saturday. The sixth-ranked UCLA Bruins come to Mac Court then, and Monson is definite ly concerned. "They have tradition — they know how to win," said Monson. "And our kids have to establish that they can win a big game." The Bruins boast a genuine All-America can didate in Kenny Fields, a fine playmaking guard ia Ralph Jackson, and a 7-foot center, Stuart Gray, that will keep Rasmussen honest. "Stuart and I are good friends — we played against each other all summer," said Rasmussen. Tipoff time for Saturday's game, being televis ed nationally by the USA network, is 2 p.m. Will real Ducks stand up? By Steve Turcotte Of the ftm*rjld This couldn't have been the same Oregon basketball team that played on the Me Arthur Court hardwood Wednesday night against Notre Dame. No way. These guys had to be imposters. The Ducks that played against the Irish corral ed just 19 rebounds and sank just 48 per< ent ot their shots. But thursday night, in front ot (>,976 par tisans, the real Due ks showed up — and |ust in time, too, Oregon hammered Southern Cal's Trojans by an 80-49 count and looked like a team that had not even lost the night before. It was ama/ing how Oregon turner! things around in a span of 24 hours. Against USC, the Dut ks connected on a six/ling 61 peri ent of their field goals and outrebounded the Trojans by a 17-21 count. Players who inexplicably took leaves of absences against Notre Dame stood up and gave an account ot themselves Thurs. day night. Forward Greg Trapp, who had (ust two points and three rebounds against Notre Dame, tossed in 10 points and pluc ked a game high 10 rebounds The- turnaround was also evident in guard Chris Harper. Harper, who mack1 just three ol 12 shots Wednesday night, tired in live ot seven and dished out five assists against the f rojans. Oregon coach Don Monson had complain ed that his troops lac Iced the killer instinct against Notre Dame. Well, Ihursdav night, the Ducks had more than the* killer instinct. It Oregon got a 15-point lead, it wanted 20. “Yeah, we talked about that, and I think we did show a killer instinct tonight," Monson said, nodding in agreement. But I think we've* still got a ways to go — we've got to do it more than one e." The players, too, felt they had been la< king the killer instinct. But a game like they had against Southern Cal should bring out the killer in ea< h and every one ot them “Usually, we will get up by tour points and lot teams bat k in," Trapp said. “But tonight, we didn't want to let them tell us what to do. We wanted to tell them what to do." We were 10 up at halftime and we tame out with the intent to go up 10 more," Oregon's Cary Catewood said. "Tonight, we went out and got the cither team down, and when you get a team down like that, they start thinking they're out of it " Gymnasts' party spoiled by SJSU Oregon's gymnastics team returned to competition after a two-year absence but San lose State spoiled the party by winn ing Thursday night's meet at Gerlinger Annex, 156.50-152.10. For the Ducks, it was a season opener that came a year late because of a lack of gymnasts for lasf year's squad. Another bit of gtx>d news came when Arizona State transfer Traci Anonsen was declared eligible just hours Oregon names new golf coach Stott Krieger, an ex-Oregon goiter, was ottk rally named Oregon's goll < oa< h fhursday, replating Jim Ferguson, who stepped down trom that post to devote more ttme to hts duties as assistant athlefk director at the University. Krieger, a 1981 Oregon graduate, played his golf under »L. A ferguson, iwkf being voted honorable mention All Pat*10 between 1976 and 1981. The 25-year-old Krieger now become* the youngest head coat h ot the University's 16 Na tional ( ollegidte Athletu Assoi lation-bat ked sports program*. before the meet. Senior Holly Holmes was a bright spot as she took top all around honors with a 32.30 tor tour events. The floor exercise saw freshman Debbie Anderson win with an 8.6 after performing the first ever double back flip by an Oregon gymnast. With a stronger performance on the uneven parallel bars, where only Anonsen could com plete her routine, the meet might have gone Oregon's way. Still, second-year coach Ed Boyd wasn't dissatisfied. "I was real pleased. The girls hung in strong and did the best they could," said Boyd. Wrestlers to tangle with No. 8 Spartans Oregon's wrestling team will try to improve its 7-2-1 record against some heady competition at Mc Arthur Court tonight and Saturday. The Ducks tace San Francisco State University tonight in a 7:30 p.m. match and then on Satur day, the wrestlers take on eighth-ranked San lose State University and Chico State University in a three-way mat chup starting at 7 p.m. SFSU is 2-2 tor the season and is led by heavyweight Morris lohnson. Johnson placed se cond in his weight class in the 1982-83 Division II champion ships and is a NCAA Division II All-American. The Spartans ot San Jose State highlight Saturday’s match — they sport a 4-0 record. Andy Isarnas, 1982-83 Pacitic Coast Athletic Association wrestler of the year at 190 pounds, grabs most ot the headlines tor the Spartans. "They are a tough team," says Oregon coac h Ron Finley of the Spartans. “They are going to give us problems all the way down the line from the first weight to the last weight.” Chico State is 6-1 on the season and comes off a 23-1^ win over Portland State Univerl sity Wednesday night. Oregon continues to rely on a pair of touted freshman. Brad Steward has been a fixture at 177 pounds, piling up a 10-2-1 match record, and fellow frosh Larry Topi iff is a perfect 5-0 at 126. Other Oregon wrestlers with impressive records are 167-pounder Keith Beutler, who is 6-0, and heavyweight Lance Hochanadel, who is 7-3. However, Finley chooses to worry less about records and more about decisive wins it the Ducks are to sweep their three matches. "The key points ar«^ if we can get some pins or not," says Finley. "We are going to have to score some pins." Duck swimmers face UW Oregon's men's and women's swim learns will lace Norlhwesl power University o t Washington Saturday in a home meet at Leighton Pool. The Huskies dominated last year's meets, beating the Oregon men 74-21 and knock ing oft Oregon's women 68424. but Oregon coach Dan Cole teels Saturday's meet should be closer. Cole points out that his team has posted some last times in the early season, and his claim isn't without backing. For the men, Steve Nichols' winning 50 yard freestyle last week against Simon Fraser University was just short of a 17-year-old Leighton Pool record. Nichols posted a :21.28 to win the event, just off Boh Boyer's :21.10 in 1967. On the women's side, Gwen Roedel did well enough in the 300 yard freestyle to c limb into seventh place on Oregon's all time top ten for the event. Still, tradition favors the Huskies. Washington leads the men's series 32-9, and holds a 7-1 edge on the women's end. The meet is scheduled to start at 11 a.m.
