Seniors
continued from page 11A
game.”
Ever since the addition of
Scales and Wright last season,
the Ducks have taken their game
to a whole new level. Last sea
son, the trio led Oregon to the
National Invitation Tournament
Final Four, and this season they
have led the Ducks to the NCAA
Tournament, where they will
face Seton Hall (20-9 overall, 11
7 Big East Conference) in the first
round on Friday.
Kent said the three seniors
have given Oregon basketball na
tional respectability.
“This year we became a very
good basketball team because of
those guys,” Kent said. “But
more importantly, we need to get
to the point where we are a very
good basketball program. That’s
where UCLA, Arizona and Stan
ford are with the continuity year
in and year out.
“They’ve laid the foundation
for us to be a good basketball pro
gram down the road. That devel
opment is still in the process
right now. They did a tremen
dous job of creating our identity
as who the University of Oregon
is.”
Not only did the trio lay the
foundation for future success,
but they also have set a standard
for future Oregon leaders.
“Those three guys raised the
bar of accountability, when you
talk about captains and those
things, because they were so fo
cused off the floor— they were
focused in the off-season with
their weight lifting and condi
tioning, and they’re going to force
the next group of leaders to really
come up a notch.”
Wright said emotions were
both high and low during his
time on the floor against the
Beavers.
“I had mixed emotions,” said
Wright, who finished with 10
points, four rebounds and three
assists in 38 minutes. “I was hap
py at the same time I was sad. ”
Smith said he appreciates the
fan support he’s had during his
career at Oregon, and he will
miss donning green-and-yellow
in Mac Court.
“The fans have been real good
to me my entire career here, espe
cially the last week and a half,”
said Smith, who returned from a
broken cheekbone last Saturday.
“It was a lot of fun, and to have
my parents come out, that was
great. I’m going to miss this place
and how good the fans were to
me.”
Men's hoops
continued from page 11A
game in which the Ducks and
Beavers would battle it out for
something larger than just state
supremacy.
But things don’t always go as
planned.
As the sold-out McArthur
Court crowd of 9,087 celebrated
their team’s banner season and
upcoming tournament appear
ance following the win, the
Beavers walked off the court for
the final time this season. No
postseason to look forward to. No
winning season for the 10th
straight year.
“Any time you lose it’s disap
pointing,” Oregon State head
coach Eddie Payne said. “But our
kids worked and competed hard.
Oregon is just a very good team.
They are a capable of winning a
number of games in the tourna
ment.”
Focus this week will certainly
be on Oregon’s first NCAA ap
pearance since 1995, its second
since 1961 and only its sixth ever.
But on Saturday night, all eyes
were centered around the Ducks
three seniors.
A.D. Smith, Alex Scales and
Darius Wright were all honored
before the game with their parents
by their side. And the three didn’t
disappoint in the ensuing two
hours, combining for 46 of Ore
gon’s points.
“The most important part of
your team is your senior leader
ship,” Payne said. “And Oregon
has terrific seniors. Those guys
make it happen for them.”
In the opening minutes, howev
er, the seniors seemed to be trying
too hard to make it happen. Scales
threw the ball out of bounds.
Smith was long on a three-point
try. And Wright couldn’t get the
offense in any groove whatsoever.
The Ducks first points didn’t
come until sophomore guard
Freddie Jones drilled a three
pointer at the 15:33 mark.
But Oregon’s flat start was
somewhat nullified as the Beavers
couldn’t take advantage of the
Duck’s miscues.
The teams went back and forth
and battled to a 25-25 tie. When
Smith hit one of two free throws
to give the Ducks the 26-25 advan
tage with five minutes to play in
the first half, it gave Oregon a lead
it would never relinquish.
Immediately after Smith’s free
throw came the play of the game
that seemed to shift momentum
in the Ducks direction for good.
Jones recorded one of his three
steals when he picked off a Josh
Steinthal pass. He then kicked it
into overdrive when he ran hard to
the hoop on the fast-break with Ore
gon State’s Josiah Lake guarding
him. Jones elevated high into the air
and proceeded to give Lake a facial
when he one-hand stuffed the ball
over Lake and drew the foul.
The Beavers still hung around
and were only down 38-32 at inter
mission. But in the opening min
utes of the second half, Jones took
control. He drilled a three-pointer
to open the half and completed an
other fast break one-handed jam
nearly two minutes later.
And when Jones zip-passed the
ball underneath the hoop to
Scales, who completed the layin,
the Ducks had stormed out to a
48-34 lead.
Flo Hartenstein then hit one of
two free throws with 15:48 to play
to up the lead to 15 and complete
the 11-2 Duck run. The Beavers
would never close to single-digits
for the rest of the game.
Jones — who celebrated his 21st
birthday on Saturday — had his
second straight complete game,
finishing with 18 points, six as
sists, three steals and two blocks.
“I think he’s taken the responsi
bility upon himself that he has to
get established because of the
leadership that we’re losing,” said
head coach Ernie Kent, who has
guided the Ducks to their most
wins in one season since 1945. “I
know he’s one of those guys that
wants to take on that responsibili
ty upon himself, and hopefully he
will do that.”
Jones was one of five Ducks that
scored in double figures for Ore
gon. Smith led the team with 21,
Wright contributed 10, while
Scales added 15 despite missing on
all six three-point attempts. The
surprise of the game was sopho
more guard Anthony Norwood’s 11
points that came by way of perfect
3 for 3 from three-point land.
“We’re peaking at the right time
with the tournament just around
the comer,” Kent said. “They cer
tainly deserve the rewards of
postseason play.”
008771
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