Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012, December 01, 1998, Page 9, Image 9

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    OregonWCmeralti
TUESDAY
December 1,1998
Best Bet
College Basketball
Chase Preseason NIT
4:30 p.m., ESPN
Minnesota three-point barraae sinks Ducks
The Golden Gophers hit seven of their
eight second-half three-pointers to
rebound from a 39-25 halftime deficit
and giev Oregon its first loss
By Rob Moseley
Oregon Daily Em&ald
The Ducks found themselves in a familiar climate
Monday night in Minneapolis.
With the skies in Eugene gray with rain, it was
raining threes at Minnesota’s Williams Arena, where
the Oregon men’s basketball team lost 72-61 to the
Golden Gophers in front of 14,380 fans.
Minnesota’s Kevin Clark scored 25 of his career
high 31 points in the second half as the Gophers re
covered from a 39-25 halftime deficit to improve
their record to 4-1 this season.
“When a guy gets in one of those zones like that,
there’s not a lot you can do," Oregon head coach
Ernie Kent said.
Clark scored 17 points on 5-of-5 three-point shoot
ing and 2-of-2 free-throw shooting in the opening six
minutes of the second half, and Quincy Lewis’ 12
foot jumper gave the Gophers their first lead of the
game, 48-47, with 11 minutes, 51 seconds remain
ing.
A.D. Smith answered with a layin and a three
pointer, but Minnesota’s Mitch Ohnstad and Lewis
hit back-to-back three-pointers to put the Gophers
ahead 54-52. Smith scored his seventh straight point
tor Oregon to tie the game, but Min
nesota used a 10-0 run to put the
Ducks (2-1) away.
“In the second half, it got away
from us,” Kent said. “Minnesota is
a team that plays so much better in
the second half, and we knew that
coming in.”
The Gophers hit seven of their
eight second-hali three-pointers
and held Oregon scoreless for more than five min
utes during their 10-0 run. Minnesota shot 59 per
cent in the second half while holding the Ducks to 23
percent.
"They shut us down, and we really took some bad
shots,” Kent said.
It was a different story in the first half, as Oregon
took an early 11-9 lead on three straight three-point
ers, two by Terik Brown and then one by Alex Scales.
A third Brown three-pointer sparked a 22-12 Oregon
run, and the Ducks scored the final six points of the
half for their 14-point lead.
Brown and Smith led Oregon with 17 points each,
and Scales added 11 points and, for the second
straight game, five blocked shots. Center Mike Car
son scored just four points but pulled down a team
high 12 rebounds.
Lewis had 16 points for the Gophers, and fresh
man center Joel Przybilla grabbed 15 rebounds.
The previous career high for Clark, a 6-foot-2 se
nior, was a 30-point performance in the Gophers win
over Fresno State in the semifinals of the National
Invitation Tournament last season. He was named
MVP of the tournament after scoring 28 points and
grabbing seven rebounds in Minnesota's 79-72 win
over Penn State in the final.
Lewis and Clark missed Minnesota’s 68-59 win
over Winthrop on Saturday after being suspended
by head coach Clem Haskins for their participation
in a mid-game brawl in an exhibition win ove the
Phillipines on Nov. 16.
The Ducks return home Saturday for a 7:05 p.m.
tilt with Brigham Young, then face Portland State at
1:05 p.m. on Dec. 12.
Leaders
Points
Smith, UO 17
Brown, UO 17
Clark, UM 31
Rebounds
Carson, UO 12
Przybilla, UM 15
Assists
Scales, UO 3
4 players, UM 3
Blocked Shots
Scales, UO 5
Przybilla, UM 7
Dreaming of a
dread locked
Heisman race
After cutting down mountains of
mashed potatoes, forking my way
through tender bits of turkey, gulping
pints of Black Butte Porter and stuffing
my face with stuffing on Thanksgiving
day, I slipped into a tryptophan-induced
dream.
Instead of seeing Randy Moss run
roughshod past the Dallas Cowboys and
former Oregon star Kenny Wheaton, I
find myself holding a Heisman Trophy
ballot as I peer out my cab’s window at
the wintry, bustling streets of New York
City.
I am on my way to the Downtown Ath
letic Club to watch the season’s best col
lege football player be presented with the
Heisman Trophy later this afternoon, but I
have yet to decide for
whom to cast my vote.
Opinion As Bob Marley’s
_ prophetic lyrics spill from
my cabbie’s radio and drift
into the back seat, I think,
“How can I deny Texas’
dread locked dynamo?”
All Ricky Williams has
done this season is break
Tim
Tony Dorsett's NCAA ca
. reer rushing record of
rylfi 6,082 yards with a 259
—— yard performance against
rival Texas A&M on last Friday that gave
him 6,279 career rushing yards with a
bowl game yet to be played. He has lifted
the Longhorns from an abysmal 4-7
record in 1997 to an 8-3 regular-season
mark which includes wins over Nebraska
and the Aggies on the strength of 2,124
rushing yards and 28 touchdowns.
Williams’ running style combines
grace and power into a lethal concoction
that only the vaunted Kansas State de
fense — which held him to 43 yards on
25 carries — has been able to swallow.
While thinking about Williams, I glance
at a street sign that’s pointing the way to
Manhattan as my cab peels around a cor
ner, and my mind wanders to Manhattan,
Kan., and Wildcat quarterback Michael
Bishop.
A fierce will to win, a powerful arm
Turn to PYLE, Page 12
Oregon Football
Holiday Bowl says it wants Oregon
Nick Medley/EmeraUi
Oregon tailback Derien Latimer breaks tree tor a first down in Oregon's 17-13 victory at Autzen Stadium on
Oct. 24. The Ducks beat out the Trojans again on Monday, this time for a berth in the Holiday Bowl.
Oregon ma y bead to either
the Holiday Bowl, Sun Bowl
or Oahu Bowl this season
By Rob Moseley
Oregon Daily Emerald
Regardless of the opponent or the set
ting, the Oregon football team will
spend this New Year’s under the sun.
Culligan Holiday Bowl officials an
nounced Monday they will extend an
invitation to the Ducks to participate in
the Dec. 30 game in San Diego if Arizona
is selected for a Bowl Championship Se
ries game next week.
uregon s opponent
may be announced as
early as tomorrow af
ter Big 12 officials
meet to discuss their
representatives to
both the Cotton and
Holiday bowls.
John Reid and the Holiday Bowl se
lection committee met at noon Monday
and made the announcement just after 5
p.m.
Norwest Sun Bowl executive director
John Folmer responded quickly by invit
ing Southern California to El Paso, Texas
on Dec. 31, leaving Oregon in Hawaii for
a Christmas Day Oahu Bowl matchup
with Colorado if Arizona tumbles to the
Holiday Bowl.
“We expected [the Holiday Bowl’s]
decision,” Folmer said. “Oregon has
beaten Southern California, it is ranked
higher and they travel well.”
Although the Sun Bowl would have
its choice of the two schools if Arizona
falls out of the BCS, Folmer said his de
cision has been made.
“We’re going to take Southern Califor
nia,” said Folmer, who cited the need to
begin preparations as the reason for the
preemptive decision.
The plans of the Wildcats and Ducks
hinge on UCLA’s matchup with Miami
this Saturday. The Bruins are ranked
second to Tennessee in the most recent
BCS standings, released Monday, and
will meet the Volunteers in the Fiesta
Bowl on Jan. 4 if the rankings remain the
same after this weekend.
Turn to FOOTBALL Page 12