Sports Editor:
Adam Jude
adamjude@dailyemerald.com
Assistant Sports Editor:
Jeff Smith
jeffismith@dailyemerald.com
Monday, January 14,2002
Best Bet
Men’s Basketball:
Texas at Texas Tech,
6 p.m., ESPN
“This is the biggest win I think this program’s had in a long time.”
—Luke Ridnour, Oregon guard
Kent-coached Ducks finally outlast Stanford
■ Five Ducks score in double figures as Oregon
gives its coach his first victory against Stanford
By Jeff Smith
Oregon Daily Emerald
An emphatic fist pump and a hard clap was Ernie Kent’s
immediate reaction when the final buzzer sounded.
He then quickly composed himself, walked over to
Stanford head coach Mike Montgomery, and shook his for
mer boss’s hand.
Oregon’s message-sending 87-79 victory over No. 14
Stanford on Saturday at McArthur Court not only meant a
lot to the Ducks after ending a 10-game losing skid to the
Cardinal — it also represented a personal hurdle that Kent
finally cleared.
Kent was an assistant coach under Montgomery at Stan
ford for the 1990 and ’91 seasons. But since taking over
Oregon in ’97, his team hadn’t been able to conquer Stan
ford under his guidance.
So after the roar of the sold-out crowd of 9,087 helped
push the Ducks to the win, there was indeed obvious hap
piness for Kent. But more so, he said in his postgame press
conference, the satisfaction came in fi
nally seeing his team reach that next
level.
“For me and for my staff, it’s great
that we finally beat Stanford because
they’ve been such an elite program and
we’ve been playing catch-up for so
long,” Kent said. “But more importantly
for me, the joy is for our guys.
“They have, worked so hard and
they’re seeing the results.”
Right now, the results can be seen in the Pacific-10 Con
ference standings.
Southern California tops the league at 5-0, but Oregon
is second with a 5-1 league record.
It’s still early, but the Ducks (12-4 overall)know that the
league is up for grabs. Winning at the Pit will be key and
protecting their home court against the Cardinal is the
kind of game that can give them the momentum to run off
a string of victories.
“This is the biggest win I think this program’s had in a
long time,” point guard Luke Ridnour said. “We’re start
ing to prove ourselves. This is huge.”
The difference in Saturday’s game was balance of scor
ing with five Ducks scoring in double figures versus just
two for the Cardinal.
While Stanford’s Casey Jacobsen and Curtis Borchardt
each tallied career-highs with 32 and 29 points, respec
tively, the other nine Cardinal players combined for just
18 points.
Turn to Basketball, page 12
Adam Amato Emerald
Oregon forward Luke Jackson shoots over Stanford’s Casey Jacobsen on Saturday. Jacobsen led all
scorers with 32, but Jackson’s 27 led the Ducks to the victory at a sold-out Mac Court.
Tale ends
in defeat
for Casey
There is no joy at Stanford.
Mighty Casey has struck
out.
Mighty Casey Jacobsen,
Stanford’s junior All-American, is
considered to be the best player in
the Pacific-10 Conference, is a can
didate for his second-straight All
American honor and is the star of a
Cardinal team that has won back-to
back-to-back Pac-10 titles.
Mighty Casey
had never lost at
McArthur
Court, nor to
Oregon at all for
that matter. He
had always
shone in this
venue because,
he said, of the
crowd that de
spises him so.
“This crowd
hates me more
than any —
them and Cal —
Cal fans and
Oregon fans re
ally, really get after me,” Jacobsen
said. “It only makes me play harder
and tougher. I appreciate the fans
for motivating me tonight.
“They’re a great crowd. I would
love to have them on my side, I’ll
tell you that. No hard feelings to
wards them at all.”
Mighty Casey had the best offen
sive game of his career against Ore
gon on Saturday night. He scored 32
points, a career-high, and hit all four
Turn to Hockaday, page 12
Hockaday
l\vo minutes for
crosschecking
UO wrestlers fall to Michigan
■Still suffering from lingering injuries,
Oregon loses to No. 4 Michigan, 30-9
By Chris Cabot
Oregon Daily Emerald
The meet began well for the Ducks as jun
ior Brian Watson won his 141 weight class
battle, but the No. 4 Michigan squad was too
talented for the limping Oregon wrestlers.
In front of 878 fans at McArthur Court on
Friday night, Oregon dropped its record to 3-4,
while Michigan improved to 5-0 in the 30-9
nonconference dual meet.
Watson won the first match over No. 12
Clark Forward in a hard-fought double-over
time decision. After three periods, Forward
and Watson each had exchanged takedowns
and surrendered two escapes to each other.
During the first one minute overtime, neither
wrestler could gain an advantage. In the sec
ond overtime, Watson chose to start on the bot
tom, and 18 seconds later had escaped from
Forward’s grasp to earn one point and the win.
“I thought I could win that match,” Wat
son said. “I knew if I wrestled smart I could.
“It wasn’t a peak performance — I know I
can wrestle better. Hopefully there are big
ger upsets to come.”
Michigan followed with wins in the next
two weight classes — No. 8 Mike Kulcyzc
ki’s decision over Casey Hunt (149 pounds)
and No. 5 Ryan Bertin’s technical fall over
Michael Badicke, 26-10, at 157 pounds.
Oregon senior Eugene Harris, ranked No. 6
in the country, followed with a win at the
165-pound class over No. 13 Charles Martel
li. After regulation time, the score was tied 1
1, but Harris was able to score a takedown
with 18 seconds left irt the
first overtime period.
Throughout the match,
Martelli kept skirting
away from Harris’s at
tempts at takedowns. A
few times during the
match, Harris had Martel
li’s legs wrapped and was close to earning
takedown points when the wrestlers were
whistled out-of-bounds.
“I just had to stay with my game plan,
keep motion up and it eventually started to
go my way,” Harris said.
After Harris’s win, the score of the meet
Turn to Wrestling, page 12
WRESTLING
Michigan’s Otto Olson, the No. 2 wrestler in the country, pinned Oregon’s Dustin Fisher in Michigan’s 30-9 win.