Seniors ‘set tone’ in Oregon’s win over USC
In their next-to-last game at home,
Brian Heiquistand Robert Johnson
combine for 18 points and 13
rebounds in the 13-point victory
Men’s basketball
Adam Jude
Senior Sports Reporter
As he sat in front of a horde of media
members, lights glaring and cameras
rolling, Robert Johnson released a big
sigh. Then, as if the weight of an entire
season had just been lifted off his
shoulders, he let out a big grin.
Johnson had reason to smile Thurs
day, and so did his roommate and fel
low senior Brian Helquist after the Ore
gon men’s basketball team’s 79-66
victory over USG in front of a sold-out
crowd of 9,087 at McArthur Court.
It’s been a roller coaster year for
Johnson and Helquist, the Ducks’
opening-day starting post players who
have taken the brunt of criticism this
season for the team’s inconsistent
production in the paint.
When Oregon’s post players fail to
score at least 22 points, the Ducks (19-7
overall, 9-6 Pacific-10 Conference) are
1-7 this season. When they do amass 22
points or more, Oregon is 18-0 this
season, including last night’s win, when
Johnson (12 points), Helquist (six
points) and freshman center Matt Short
(six points) combined for 24 points.
In their final weekend series at Mac
Court, Johnson (7 rebounds) and
Helquist (six rebounds) also helped the
Ducks to a 39-38 rebounding edge over
the Trojans (10-14, 5-10).
“Robert and Brian are fighters, and
they don’t want to lose; they don’t want
to go out not winning at home,” said
point guard Luke Ridnour, who had a
game-high 23 points Thursday.
“They’re going to fight, and we’re going
to follow their lead.”
Helquist, a 6-foot-9-ineh center from
Jacksonville, Fla., made his first start
since Oregon’s last meeting with USC, a
91-76 defeat in Los Angeles on Feb. 2,
when he was held scoreless in seven
minutes.
“I feel like we played a lot tougher
on the inside (Thursday),” said
Helquist, who was 3-of-6 from the
floor in 21 minutes. “They really beat
us up inside last time, and the big
guys really had something to prove
this game. We weren’t going to be
pushed around, and we came out and
fought hard.”
Johnson and Helquist will play
their final home game at 1 p.m.
Saturday against UCLA — a game that
the Ducks say they need to win to secure
a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
“It’s coming down to the end of the
line for me and Rob, and we’re try to
do as much as we can to get this done
and to get in the NCAA Tournament
again,” Helquist said.
“This is the biggest weekend at home
we’ve had in a long time,” Johnson
said. “So there is a large sense of ur
gency to get this done.”
Johnson had just two points in Ore
gon’s first meeting with the Trojans,
but scored the Ducks’ first basket of
"Robert and Brian are
fighters, and they don't
want to lose; they don't
want to go out not
winning at home."
Luke Ridnour
Oregon point guard
the game Thursday and finished with
nine points in the first half.
“I don’t think I had any less intensi
ty (in L.A.), it’s just that opportunities
came (Thursday) and they didn’t come
as often in the last time we faced USC,”
Johnson said.
Oregon fought back from a 12-point
first-half deficit and trailed by one at
halftime. Helquist tipped in a James
Davis miss for the first bucket of the
second half to give the Ducks a 45-44
lead. He then put the exclamation
point on the win with a two-handed
dunk with 2:12 left to give Oregon a 78
64 lead, its largest of the game.
“I thought they set the tone for us,”
Oregon head coach Ernie Kent said of
his seniors. “They played hard, and
they were so much tougher than they
were down in L.A.”
Helquist will start again Saturday,
and Johnson will make his 62nd con
secutive start as a Duck.
Saturday’s game could also be Rid
nour’s final game at Mac Court, if he
chooses to enter the NBA draft this
year. As Ridnour took control of the
game in the second half, scoring eight
points in a 12-0 run, The Pit Crew
chanted, “One more year.”
Ridnour said he is not preparing for Sat
urday’s game to be his last at Mac Court.
“Our goal is to get those two seniors
out with a win,” Ridnour said. “It’s all
about those two, and we have to play
hard to get it done for them.”
Contact the senior sports reporter
at adamjude@dailyemerald.com.
Adam Amato Emerald
Brian Helquist (40) and Luke Jackson defend USC's Desmon Farmer, who had four three-pointers to start the game.
Men's
continued from page 11
State, which lost at Stanford
on Thursday night. Neither
team can mathematically
catch Stanford for third, while
Oregon State and USG are too
far behind. So the Ducks and
Sun Devils will finish fourth
and fifth in the conference,
meaning they will face each
other in the Pac-10
Tournament. They will also
square off in Tempe, Ariz., on
Thursday.
Kent and the Ducks hope
they don’t need to win that
game to get to 20 wins on the
season. They want No. 20
against UCLA on Saturday.
“Saturday’s game becomes a
lot of thing, to get to 20 wins, to
get these seniors out with a win,
to get one more win in this great
old building,” Kent said. “So
much is at stake.”
The Ducks and Bruins will tip
off at 1 p.m. on Saturday. The
game will be televised on CBS.
Contact the sports editor at
peterhockaday@dailyemerald.com.
Classifieds
To place an ad, call (541) 3464343 or stop by Room 300 Erb Memorial Union
E-mail: classads@dailyemerald.com Online Edition: www.dailyemerald.com
Room 300, Erb Memorial Union, RO. Box 3159, Eugene, OR 97403
095 PERSONALS
Lovely Asian couple seeks egg
donor. Contact Beth at the Fertili
ty Center of Oregon, 683-1599.
1Q5TYPING/RESUME SERVICES
At 344-0759, ROBIN is GRAD
SCHOOL APPROVED. 30-year the
sis/dissertation background. Term
papers. Full resume service. Editing.
Laser pr. ON CAMPUS!
120 MISCELLANEOUS FOR SALE
see The Pretenders on 3/5
4th Row, aisle seats, pair tickets
$75 each, 485-2790
Sunday is mage knight. Demo and
tournaments. Emerald City Comics
770 E. 13th. 345-2568.
"Give Me Five!"
Run your “FOR SALE” ad (items
under $1,000) for 5 days. If the
item(s) doesn’t sell, call us at
346-4343 and we’ll run your ad
again for another 5 days FREE!
Student/Private Party Ads Only • No Refunds
125 FURNITURE/APPLIANCES
20” TV/VCR $99.99, 3’ tall refrigera
tor $75., full size futon w/mattress
$200., all obo (650) 245-3035
Washing machine for sale, $90 obo.
Heavy duty, extra large capacity,
GE, 3 water levels, multiple wash
settings, filter-flo lint filter. Call M-F
7pm-10pm for details or leave msg.
345-1918. You haul.
130 CARS/TRUCKS/CYCLES
1994 Ford Taurus. 90K miles, auto
matic, a/c, cruise, full power. $2,560.
736-1533.
EPHREM AUTO
Wholesale Prices!
‘91 VW Jetta, 4 dr, auto, $1,500.
‘87 VW Cabriolet, CD, premium
wheels, 5 speed, $2,450.
‘92 Honda AccordEX, CD , premi
um wheels & tires, ski rack,
$3,995.
‘85 VW Golf diesel, 4 dr. $2,350.
‘96 VW Jetta, 5 speed, premium
wheels, 4 dr., 110K/mi, $4,900.
Many More! Convienently located
@ 311 E. 11th near campus. 686
8215
130 CARS/TRUCKS/CYCLES
‘91 Honda Civic, 180K mi., good
condition, 4 dr., 5 speed, 2 owners,
$2,000. 683-2969
‘90 VW Jetta. 117K, 5-spd, 2dr, runs
well, chrome wheels, custom ex
haust, lowered, sunroof. $2,800 obo.
Call Liz 346-9901.
1984 Honda Accord LX. Five speed,
low miles, new timing belt. $1,500.
342-3291.
170 PHOTOGRAPHY EQUIPMENT
Buy the Emerald’s photo equipment!
Canon A2 w/70-20mm AF f2.8 for
$700. 346-5511
190 OPPORTUNITIES
Possible river guide positions
our spring break guide school is a
great first step towards exceptional
summer employment. Destination
wilderness. (800) 423-8868.
www.WildernessTrips.com
BUS Eli BEWARE
The Oregon Daily Emerald assumes no
liability for ad content or response. Ads are
screened for illegal content and mail order
ads must provide a sample of item for sale.
Otherwise, ads that appear too good to be
true, probably are.
Respond at your own risk.
190 OPPORTUNITIES
River Rafting Guides Needed. 18
day training program, weekends and
spring break. Starting March 1. Free
info, 1-800-289-4534
190 OPPORTUNITIES
Wanted: Entrepreneurial Japanese
student to build own business in Ja
pan with our help. Call Les and
Sharon 484-9809.
190 OPPORTUNITIES
Movie Extras -Models Needed
No exp. necessary. Earn up to $150
$450/day. 1-888-820-0164 ext. 1146
7 i
GOO
COLLEGIATECHRISTIANFELLOWSHIP
Sunday 6:02 7:13 p.m.
Edgene Christian Fellowship
89780 N. Game Farm Rd.
541.345*0341
college@fbceugene.com
CATHOLIC CAMPUS
MINISTRY
St. Thomas More Newman Center
Daily Mass M-F, 5:15PM
Wed. Mass 9:00PM (Student Mass)
Sat. Mass 5:00PM
Sun. Mass 9:00, 11:00AM,
7:30PM (Student Mass)
1850 Emerald St. • 346-4468
www.newmanctr-uoregon.org
Central Lutheran Church (ELCA)
Welcomes you!
Holy Communion:
Sundays 8:15 & 10:45am; 6:30pm
18th & Potter • 345-0395
Call 346-4343 to list
your services here.