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Ducks looking forward to Pac-10 title at home
The Oregon
wrestling team
is hosting the
Pac-10
Championships
and is looking
for its first
conference
crown since
1982
ON TAP
Who: No. 18
ranked Oregon
wrestling team
What: Pac-10
Championship
Tournament
When: Sunday
and Monday
Where:
McArthur Court
By Robbie McCallum
Oregon Daily Emerald
In the sport of wrestling, only two
competitions in the entire season add
up to anything: The one at the end of
the season and the one to qualify for the
one at the end.
The Oregon wrestling team will host
the first of these competitions, the Pa
cific-10 Conference Championships,
Sunday through Monday at McArthur
Court. The two-day wrestling extrava
ganza will determine the conference
champion and which individuals qual
ify for the NCAA Championships in
mid-March.
“I think our kids are ready to get after
it,” Oregon head coach Chuck Kearney
said. “The key for us is if our guys are
ready for that step up in intensity.”
The Ducks are looking for their first
conference crown since the 1982 sea
son and to improve on their fifth-place
finish at last year’s tournament. The top
four wrestlers in each weight class au
tomatically qualify for the NCAA’s,
with three additional at-large bids avail
able as well.
Seven Ducks are ranked in the top
four of the conference rankings, includ
ing two top-ranked wrestlers. Senior
Doug Lee and junior Shaun Williams
will head into the Pac-lO’s as favorites,
while senior Chael Sonnen, sophomore
Eric Webb and sophomore Tony Over
stake are all ranked second.
Lee is a two-time defending Pac-10
champion, NCAA placer and currently
ranked seventh among 184-pounders.
Lee is 28-5 this sea
son and has not
lost a match since
Jan. 6.
Sonnen went to
the NCAA tourna
ment twice at 197
pounds before tak
ing last season off to train with the U.S.
Olympic team. Sonnen (27-6) will face
stiff competition from Boise State’s
Rusty Cook.
Williams (125 pounds) will wrestle
for the first time in a Division I confer
ence tournament. The South African
native is no stranger to tournament ac
tion; he is a junior college champion
and Olympic qualifier.
Webb went undefeated in Pac-10
play, but it is unlikely that he will re
ceive the top bidding at heavyweight.
In Oregon’s match with Arizona State,
Tu rn to Wrestling, page 8
WRESTLING
Azle Malinao-Alvarez Emerald
Senior 184-pounder Doug Lee (right) is looking for his third straight Pac-10 championship at home
this weekend.
Adam Amato Emerald
Oregon guard Freddie Jones (20) and the Ducks scored 73 points, but the Ducks’ late-game run over a six-minute span fell
short of beating the Bruins.
Ducks fall hard to
streaking Bruins
■An emotional Oregon basketball team can’t
prevent No. 15 UCLA’s sixth straight victory
By Peter Hockaday
Oregon Daily Emerald
The Oregon men’s basketball team played with
heart, emotion and intensity against No. 15 UCLA
Thursday night at McArthur Court.
But just when it looked as though the Ducks might
pull even with the Bruins, “the paint can lid slammed
shut” over Oregon’s rim, as Ducks head coach Ernie
Kent put it.
Oregon (13-11 overall, 4-10 Pacific-10 Conference)
dropped the first game of its final homestand of the sea
son, 88-73, to UCLA (18-6, 11-2). It was the sixth
straight win for the Bruins, who held on to sole posses
sion of second place in the Pac-10.
Midway through the second half, the Ducks made a
valiant run at the Bruins. With 14:48 showing on the
clock in the second frame, Oregon’s Freddie Jones hit a
free throw to bring the score to 62-4 3 in favor of UCLA.
Seconds later, Jones stole an alley-oop pass with a leap
ing grab. He gave the ball to freshman James Davis on
the other end, who hit a three-pointer to bring the
crowd to its feet.
“Jones just went up like Batman and intercepted that
thing,” UCLA head coach Steve Lavin said.
Davis’ three started an 18-5 Oregon run that brought
the score to 69-61 UCLA with 6:25 left in the game.
But during the last minutes of the contest, the Ducks
Turn to Basketball, page 8
CC Jones
just went up
like Batman
and
intercepted
that thing.
Steve Lavin
head coach,
UCLA
UCLA big men find way to break Mac Court conundrum
Oregon’s
dominance
over UCU\ at
Mac Court
comes to an
end, thanks to
the Bruins’
post players
By Robbie McCallum
Oregon Daily Emerald
The hex.
McArthur Court has been a danger
ous place for UCLA basketball teams
in the last seven years. Some of the
most painful losses in Bruin history
have come at the hands of Oregon and
the boisterous Mac Court fans.
Flashback to 1995, when UCLA suf
fered only two losses — one at Mac
Court at the hands of Kenya Wilkins —
en route to an NCAA championship.
More recently, the Bruins suffered one
of their most lopsided losses at The Pit
in a 15-point Oregon win last season.
No longer.
UCLA dominated early in Thursday
night’s game, then held on for a 15
point win of its own.
“Oregon is definitely the toughest
place to get a road win at,” UCLA cen
ter Dan Gadzuric said. “It’s a great
place to play at. This is one of those
special wins.”
Gadzuric and frontcourt mates Matt
Barnes and Jason Kapono were able to
ignore the taunts and jeers from
McArthur Court’s infamous Pit Crew
for a combined 57 points and 29 re
bounds to lead the Bruins over Oregon,
88-73.
The difference between this year’s
game and past UCLA losses at Oregon
was the Bruins’ frontcourt dominance.
“The plan was to come out, put pres
sure on the boards and contain [Bryan]
Bracey and [Freddie] Jones,” UCLA
coach Steve Lavin said. “Defensively,
the press was effective and we created
a nice rhythm on the floor.”
“It was just one of our goals to con
trol rebounding and the paint,” said
Turn to Men, page 8