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