Sports Editor: Adam Jude adamjude@dailyemerald.com Assistant Sports Editor: Jeff Smith jeffsmith@dailyemeraid.com Best Bet College hoops: Cincinnati at Oklahoma State, 6 p.m., ESPN mday, November 16,2001 Senior Freddie Jones scored his 1,000th career point in Oregon’s season-opening 92-52 victory over Alabama State Thursday night at McArthur Court. Tliomas Patterson Emerald Jones slams way into record book ■Senior guard Freddie Jones becomes the 22nd Duck to score 1,000 points in his career and he does so in style By Jeff Smith Oregon Daily Emerald Ernie Kent and Luke Ridnour weren’t surprised to see Freddie Jones’ 1,000th career point as a Duck come on a thundering dunk. In fact, they both had similar feelings regarding Jones’ high-wire theatrics for the record books. “That’s Freddie,” Ridnour said. Five minutes later... “That’s Freddie,” Kent said. Yes, that’s Freddie all right, as the senior became the 22nd Oregon player to reach four digits in points — and he still has nearly an entire season games left to pad those numbers even more. Jones finished with a modest nine points in Oregon’s season-opening 92-52 rout over Alabama State on Thursday night at McArthur Court, but he played as pivotal a role as any in setting the tone from the get-go. He gave the 7,315 fans packed in The Pit their first excuse to cut loose when he received a perfectly placed alley-oop pass from Ridnour and slammed it down on the reverse jam to put Oregon up, 12-0. Jones then followed that up with a three-pointer that finished off the Ducks’ 16-0 run to start the game, which also essentially ended any suspense as to who would win. But there was just one play that generated Turn to Jones, page12 Ducks sting Hornets with opening blowout ■The Oregon men take care of business with a sloppy but convincing 92-52 win at Mac Court By Peter Hockaday Oregon Daily Emerald It was played by Americans. At times it looked like youth ball. And it was hardly classic. The Oregon men’s basketball team routed Alabama State, 92-52, Thursday night in the Ducks’ season opener, the second game of the America’s Youth Classic at McArthur Court. The Ducks used ac curate shooting at the outset and a barrage of three-pointers at the conclusion to spoil the Hornets’ evening. “I loved the way our intensity was there for the entire game,” Oregon head coach Ernie Kent said. “I just loved our team spirit.” Oregon had 15 points on the score board before Alabama State got its first basket, a three-pointer by sophomore Malcolm Campbell eight minutes into the contest. The Ducks increased their lead to 29-7 at the 7:46 mark of the first frame. Minutes later, with the clock showing 2:55, Oregon sophomore guard Luke Ridnour connected with senior Freddie Jones on a long alley-oop pass that got the crowd on their feet for more reasons than one. The spectacular play also pushed Jones over the 1,000-point mark for his Oregon career, making him the 22nd player in Duck history to achieve that feat. Oregon entered the half with a 40-22 lead, but it was the Alabama State play ers who came out of the break fired up. Each time the Hornets scored, though, the Ducks answered back, and kept the gap at 20 points or more. Midway through the second frame, the Oregon sharpshooters took over. Af ter Ridnour and senior guard Anthony Lever missed back-to-back treys, the two players went back-to-back-to-back on successful threes. With 8:43 left in the game, sophomore guard James Davis started his own long-ball show, and made two consecutive treys. Davis led all scorers with 18 points, on 6-for-8 shooting from beyond the arc. Davis never attempted a two-pointer in 18 minutes of floor time. “I just got in a groove,” Davis said. “I got a lot of opportunities today.” “He just played a terrific game,” Kent said of Davis. Overall, Oregon shot 53.6 percent from the floor and 50 percent from three-point land. On defense, the Ducks held the Hor nets to 35 percent shooting. Oregon ended with five blocked shots, while Alabama State could not swat any of the Ducks’ chances. Oregon forced a re markable 22 turnovers. Despite the statistics, Duck forward Robert Johnson said the Ducks will need to improve their defense as the season continues. Johnson was a star of Thurs day night’s game, as he netted 14 points and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds. “Right now I’m still developing my role on the team,” Johnson said. “I’m just doing whatever it takes to win.” Oregon’s game was the second of a doubleheader Thursday night. In the evening’s first contest, Long Beach State defeated Western Michigan, 71-64. The Ducks will take on the Broncos of WMU tonight at 8:15 p.m., while the Hornets will play the 49ers of Long Beach State at 6 p.m. On Saturday, Alabama State wall face Western Michigan at 6 p.m., and Oregon will square off with Long Beach State in the nightcap. Peter Hockaday is a sports reporter for the Oregon Daily Emerald. He can be reached at peterhockaday@dailyemerald.com Finishing Strong ■Battling back from a foot injury earlier this year, senior Adam Bergquist is poised to lead the Ducks into Monday’s NCAA Championships By Chris Cabot Oregon Daily Emerald When offered the responsibility of captain of the Oregon men’s cross country team, Adam Bergquist was hesitant, but now he has taken on the role with enthusiasm, and his run ning is coming back to him as if by divine inspiration. The senior from Boulder, Colo., has been running in green and yellow for almost five years, and it seems as though he has saved his best for the end. In the last two races for the Ducks, Bergquist, the only senior on the team, has finished second on the squad behind All American junior Jason Hartmann. He took 11th overall at both the Pacific-10 Conference Championships and the Western Re gional Championships, and is now leading the Ducks into the NCAA Championships on Monday in Greenville, S.C. Early in the season, though, Bergquist was struggling to regain his strength after suffering an injury to his foot Jan. 1 that almost kept him from returning. “I knew that I would eventually be able to run again,” Bergquist said. “But it was an injury severe enough that I did n’t think I would be able to compete for the University of Oregon again.” Bergquist suffered a partially tom tendon in his foot, and after two weeks in a cast and five months of rest, he finally began the slow process of getting back into running shape. It Adam Bergquist Yean Senior Hometown: Boulder, Goto. Major: Exercise & Movement Science and Gen* 20(H): first on team in mile (4:08.03). Team’stii ountry appearance. Pac-10 Cross Country All* i ■'dfiPm -if*, 1 V'. ,>u'» *» 4 1399: Redshirted i mu mi m 'i998: First on team, 11tti in Pac-10 in : 000 ■ 5 21 Oort ■■ : . 1997:29th at U.S. Cross Country Junior Championships was not until August that he was able to begin training for the cross country season. “There was a while in the spring that I wasn’t sure that I was going to come back this fall and do it again,” he said. Bergquist, a Pac-10 cross country All-Academic first team selection in 2000 with a near-perfect grade point average, could have graduated with an exercise and movement sci ence degree. However, when he realized through his rehabil itation that he could possibly make an impact on the team, he decided to tack on general science major, too. “What I was most excited about coming back for when I figured I could run was being with the team,” he said. Although many may think that cross country is an individ Turn to Bergquist, page 10 Ducks grounded in L.A., lose to Bruins in three sets ■A three-game loss leaves the Ducks winless in Pac-10 play with only three matches left By Hank Hager Oregon Daily Emerald The weather outside Pauley Pavilion read a moderate 61 degrees Thursday, but inside it was downright chilly for the Oregon volleyball team. In their first match of the season against Pacific-10 Confer ence rival UCLA, the Ducks (9-18 overall, 0-15 Pac-10) could not hold off the Bruins’ powerful offense and lost in three straight games (30-23,30-18, 30-22). UCLA began game one strong, taking an 8-1 lead before Oregon could score again. A service ace by sophomore Lindsay Murphy pulled the Ducks within striking range at 9-6. But that’s as close as Oregon would get, with the Bruins taking control en route to a seven-point win. Game one was a mismatch from the get-go, as I TO .A hit for 14 kills and a .379 hitting percentage, while the Ducks could barely stay afloat with nine kills and a dismal .083 attack percentage. The Ducks stood strong in game two, 8-6, after junior Lind say Closs recorded her 23rd service ace of the season. Howev er, the Bruins came back and took the lead from the Oregon women, and stood at 12-9 after three straight kills from Ashley Turn to Volleyball, page 12