NCAA
continued from page 7
The win was the Ducks’ first in
the Big Dance since beating Utah,
65-54, on March 11, 1960. Oregon
(24-8) now advances into Satur
day^ second round match-up
against No. 7 seed Wake Forest,
which beat Pepperdine.
Ridnour and Jackson each led
the Ducks in scoring with 18,
while Jones scored 16 and Johnson
contributed a career-high 15. Mon
tana was led by Tigard, Ore., native
Rvan Slider with 12 points and
Dan Trommel and Brent Cum
mings, who each scored 10.
Before the game, the Grizzlies
talked about slowing down the
pace of the game and not letting
the Ducks get out and run. For the
most part, Montana’s game plan
was effective as the Grizzlies had
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the Ducks visibly frustrated in the
first half.
Oregon began the game with
three straight turnovers, not scor
ing until a Jones three-pointer after
almost three minutes had passed.
The Ducks led only 22-20 with
less than five minutes to play until
halftime, leaving many of the
15,904 at Arco Arena wondering if
there was any potential of witness
ing a huge upset.
But then Ridnour drilled a three
and Jackson connected on a floater
in the lane, which kick-started an
8-0 run that led to Oregon taking
the 34-26 halftime advantage.
“We stuck with them,” Montana
guard Shane Christensen said. “We
were only down by eight at the
half so we were feeling good about
our chances.”
The Ducks came out in the sec
ond half with more poise but still
had to deal with the Grizzlies, who
cut the margin to 47-40 with 13:46
to play.
Soon thereafter, though, Oregon
led 61-44 and held off Montana for
the win.
“When you're a No. 2 seed, peo
ple expect you to blow them out,"
Kent said. “It was a strange game
for us. But the bottom line is we
got the win.”
Montana head coach Don Holst
knew that it would take a lot of
things falling perfectly in place for
the Grizzlies to beat Oregon, but
was proud afterward of the fight
his team gave.
“I think Oregon knew they were
in a basketball game about five
minutes in," Holst said.
But the Ducks know that the key
to the Big Dance isn't necessarily
how you play, but that you win.
And advance.
Johnson admitted that when the
brackets were first released he
found it tough to fight off the
temptation to glance forward at po
tential match-ups down the road,
especially with the Ducks securing
the favorable No, 2 seed.
“But coach keeps us in line
about not looking at other brack
ets,” Johnson said.
The philosophy that Kent has
taken with his team is to view each
weekend as “mini-tournaments.”
There’s this weekend’s first and
second rounds, the regionals and
semifinals a week later and finally
the Final Four in Atlanta from
March 30-April 1.
All of the hype can be over
whelming, but Kent’s confident his
team can keep its heads grounded.
“It’s huge to stay alive in this
mini-tournament and on Saturday
we play for the championship,”
Kent said.
It may not seem like a big deal
that the Ducks beat the Grizzlies,
who entered with just a 16-14
record, but in the game following
Oregon's at Arco Arena, a perfect
example of March Madness was
presented.
Fourth-seeded USC was
shocked hy the 13th-seeded UNC
Wilmington Seahawks, 93-89, in
overtime. The Trojans, who ad
vanced to the Elite Eight in 2001,
are now finished after round one.
“You can’t play the second game
until you win the first and we did
that," UNC-Wilmington head
coach Jerry Wainwright said.
So did the Ducks. And as a re
ward, Oregon gets to continue its
dance on Saturday.
E-mail assistant sports editor Jeff Smith
at jeffsmith@dailyemerald.com.
Wake Forest leaves
Pepperdine behind
■The Demon Deacons hold off
a late charge from Pepperdine
to advance to the second round
By Peter Hockaday
Oregon Daily Emerald
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — What
could hav-e been the first thriller
of the 2002 NCAA Tournament
turned into another blowout as
Pepperdine went cold down the
stretch and Wake Forest capital
ized for a 83-74 win
Thursday morning.
Wake Forest will meet Oregon
on Saturday in the second round.
The Demon Deacons were led
by Craig Dawson, who scored 19
points and Darius Songaila, who
notched 18.
The Deacs had several chances
to put the Waves away but let Pep
perdine back into the game several
times. But given one last chance to
bury the Waves late, Wake Forest
took advantage.
“We had a great start to the
game, a less than scintillating mid
dle and a very gratifying finish,”
Wake Forest coach Skip Prosser
said. “I thought in the last couple
of minutes, we tightened up our
execution and the kids did a whale
of a job.”
Pepperdine held its only lead of
the game midway through the sec
ond half, when Wave guard Devin
Montgomery scored a layup to put
Pepperdine ahead 52-50.
Wake Forest battled back and got
the lead to seven points with 7:48
left. But Pepperdine went on a 7-2
run to pull the score to 70-68 with
3:55 remaining.
9 That’s when Pepperdine went
cold, as the Waves scored just four
points in the final three minutes.
“We had a
chance in the
last five min
utes,” Pepper
dine coach
Paul Westphal
said. - “They
made shots and
we didn’t.”
Wake Forest
got off to an
early lead in the first half and
scored the game’s first nine points.
The Demon Deacons led 19-8
when the Waves rattled off nine
points in three possessions —
two three-pointers from Mont
gomery and a three-point play
from Glen McGowan.
“We came out a little tentative
for the first fjve minutes, but then
we got in our groove and stayed
with them.”
After Wake Forest got the back
to nine points, Pepperdine ended
the first half on another run,
outscoring the Deacons 12-6 down
the stretch to make the score 38-35
at the half.
E-mail sports reporter Peter Hockaday
at peterhockaday@dailyemerald.com.
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