Scoreboard
Lakers 90,
Trail Blazers 87
PORTLAND (AP) — The Los
Angeles Lakers earned
more than just a victory.
They gained momentum,
respect and undisputed
possession of the league’s
best record.
ShaquilleO’Neal had 23
points and Kobe Bryant
added 22 Tuesday night as
the Lakers defeated the
Blazers 90-87 in a thrilling
battle between the NBA’s
two finest teams.
The Lakers won their izth
straight game and snapped
the Blazers’11-game
streak. Portland also had
won 16 straight at home.
Scottie Pippen had 19
points to lead the Blazers,
who couldn’t get anything
going after Pippen’s3
pointer put Portland ahead
85-84 with 3:07 to go.
It was the first time in NBA
history that two teams with
at least an 11-game win
ning streak had faced each
other, and the game lived
up to its billing right to the
end.
The Lakers led by as many
as 11 early in the fourth
quarter, but a 3-pointer by
Greg Anthony tied it at 80
all with 4:46 to play, and
Pippen’s 3-pointer from 27
feet away gave the Blazers
the lead.
Both teams sputtered for
the next few minutes, but
the Lakers inched ahead on
two free throws by Kobe
Bryant and another by Ron
Harper to make it 87-85
with 34.3 seconds left.
After Damon Stoudamire
missed an 18-foot jumper,
O’Neal was quickly fouled
and made one of two for an
88-85 lead. Pippen rushed
another long 3-pointer, and
Steve Smith’s shot off a long
offensive rebound was
nowhere close.
Portland got a meaningless
layup from Arvydas Sabonis
to end the game
Mariners report first
profit in long time
SEATTLE (AP)—The Seattle
Mariners did better at the
gate than on the field after
moving to Safeco Field last
season, finishing in the
black for the first time un
der the current ownership.
Mariners president Chuck
Armstrong said Monday
that the AL club had a profit
of nearly $2.6 million in
1999. despite missing the
playoffs with a 79-83 season
record.
Without gains in ticket sales,
advertising and concessions
following the move to Safe
co Field in July, the Mariners
would have lost $6 million,
Armstrong said.
Best Bet
NCAA Men’s Hoops
Duke vs. Clemson
4 p.m., ESPN
Wednesday
Ducks lose, UCLA gains, UA splits
Pac-10
Leading
Scorers
1. Eddie House
23.1
2. Brian
Scalabrine
18.8
3. Jason Kapono
16.4
4. Sean Lampiey
16.2
5. Chris Crosby
15.9
6. Aloe Scales
15.7
7. Jeff
Trepagnier
15.6
8. Loren Woods
15.6
9. A.D. Smith
15.3
10. Deon Luton
15.3
■ The Pac-10 conference
loses two if its stars but
regains two more as the
regular season closes
Men’s Notes
By Jeff Smith
Oregon Daily Emerald
Two in, two out.
In the course of three days,
two of the Pacific-10 Confer
ence’s impact basketball play
ers — Arizona’s Loren Woods
and Oregon’s A.D. Smith —
have been ruled out for the re
mainder of the regular season .
And two other impact play
ers — Arizona’s Richard Jeffer
son and UCLA’s JaRon Rush —
have become eligible to play for
the rest of the year.
The revolving door of players
comes at a critical juncture of
the season. With all three teams
still in contention for an NCAA
Tournament berth, the addi
tions and subtractions should
have a major influence on each
teams’ fate.
Oregon
For Oregon, losing Smith
with a broken cheekbone will
force the Ducks to play without
their leading rebounder (5.9 per
game) and second leading scor
er (15.3) for their final three
games — if not more.
Head coach Ernie Kent will
move junior forward Bryan
Bracey into the starting lineup,
and he will be counting on big
men Flo Hartenstein, Julius
Hicks and Chris Christofferson
to pick up their games.
Arizona freshman Jason
Gardner doesn’t see the loss of
Smith as that big a factor.
“That is not going to do any
Turn to Basketball, page 8
Emerald
Arizona regains the much-needed inside force of sophomore forward Richard Jefferson (44), who has
been sidelined since January 8 with a broken bone in his foot.
Beavers, Trojans muddle race for Pac-10 title
Catharine Kendall Emerald
UCLA coach Kathy Olivier’s team may miss the NCAAs.
■ The Ducks must win on
the road to stay ahead of
Oregon State in the
standings
Women’s Notes
By Scott Pesznecker
Oregon Daily Emerald
A week ago at this time, the
Pacific-10 Conference title
seemed just within reach of the
then-first-place Ducks.
Last weekend’s heartbreaking
split at McArthur Court
changed all that.
Oregon’s second loss to
Southern California bumped
the Ducks into second place,
half a game behind Stanford.
Oregon lost control of its own
destiny, and the possibility of
settling for a split in the desert
this weekend.
Because if the Ducks lose to
either Arizona State on Thurs
day or Arizona on Saturday,
they could find themselves be
ing taken from behind by Ore
gon State, which has won five
of its last six games.
For Oregon to even share the
title, Stanford has to lose. The
only supposedly tough compe
tition left on the Cardinal’s
schedule is UCLA — and the
key word there is “supposed
ly-”
Flat out, the Bruins have
been playing bad lately. Point
guard Erica Gomez publicly
blasted her team before the con
ference season, questioning
their desire to win and their
ability to play hard.
Time has proven her ques
tions valid, as another UCLA
loss could leave the Bruins
without an invitation to the Big
Dance.
A fifth-place team in the
tournament?
If the Bruins finish the season
where they are right now — fifth
in the Pac-10 — and still got to
the NCAA Tournament, most
people would conclude that the
fourth-place team should also
Turn to Women, page 9
Pac-10
Ranks
1. Stanford
11-3
2. Oregon
11-4
3. Arizona
10-4
4. Oregon State
10-5
5. UCL*
9-5
6. Southern
California
7-7
7. Arizona State
6-8
8. California
4-10
9. Washington
3-12
10. Washington
State
1-14