Oregon
pleased
with its
offense
Oregon’s offense flourished
on Sunday and set the
tempo as a run-and-gun
type of offensive team
By Jesse Thomas
Sports Reporter
Oregon's offense showed up in its
first exhibition game on Sunday night.
It showed up to play.
It was a run-and-gun, fast-paced 40
minutes where the Ducks outscored
their opponent, MBC Nikolaev of
Ukraine, 96-76. Oregon changed it up
quite a bit with consistent substitu
tions and varying lineups throughout
the night.
"If we would have kept the right
group on the floor, we could have
probably scored 125 or 130 points
the way we were clicking in the sec
ond half," Oregon head coach Ernie
Kent said.
The Ducks scored 20 points less in
the second half than they did in the
first. However, they shot 60.9 percent
from the field. On the evening, Ore
gon shot 54.4 percent, but it still isn't
good enough.
"We probably could have shot 70
percent," Kent said. "Just because of
some substitutions we made in the
first half where we lost a great lead
and great momentum in the game. If
the right 4ineup is on the floor, we
probably could have shot a much
-__^_
Mark McCambridge Photographer
James Davis and the Ducks shot 54.4 percent from the field in the 20-point win.
higher percentage and I think that's
pretty impressive."
The right lineup is still to be deter
mined for Oregon. The starting line
up for the Ducks featured guards An
dre Joseph and Aaron Brooks,
forwards Luke Jackson and lan Cross
white and center Mitch Platt.
Jackson earned a double-double
with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Jack
son played 22 minutes and went 8 of
14 from the field. All of this came af
ter suffering an injury to his toe last
week and missing last week's scrim
mage due to a funeral.
"There was a lot of positives tonight
on offense," Jackson said. "It would
have been nice to execute a little bit
more offensively, but we're so fast we
didn't get to set up very much."
That was the theme of the evening
for the Ducks. The 8,666 at McArthur
Court got to see a dose of the speed
the Ducks possess.
"We're definitely capable of run
ning and gunning just like we did
tonight," Jackson said. "Obviously
when you play a little bit tougher
team, we're not going to get as many
transition buckets."
Oregon's perimeter game came to
gether in the second half. The Ducks
went 3 for 3 from beyond the arc in
the last 20 minutes. They shot 4 for 12
BASKETBALL
continued from page 7
eased into it" he said.
The Ducks started a relatively
young group, highlighted by two
freshmen: Brooks and Mitch Platt.
Jackson played despite a sore big toe
he injured last week during practice,
and Crosswhite started at forward op
posite Jackson. Senior Andre Joseph
also started at guard and led a team
that shot 54.4 percent from the field.
"The good thing is, knowing that it
is an exhibition, you can throw out a
lot of different lineups out there," Kent
said. "We tried a lot of different tilings,
yet at the same time, we didn't show a
lot of stuff out there because we don't
want to give too much for Fresno State
to see on tape. There is a lot more stuff
we could have done out there."
Nikolaev hung with Oregon in the
first half and at one time even took a
three-point lead after a three-pointer by
Volodymyr Polyakh at the 9:52 mark.
The Ducks, however, pulled away con
vincingly at that point and ended the
first half with a 13-point lead.
The lead ballooned to 30 points by
the 11-minute mark of the second half.
"When you're up by that much, it's
hard to run the offense," Crosswhite
said. "It's just about having discipline"
Overall, the Ducks shot 46.7 percent
from beyond the three-point arc pulled
in 42 rebounds — compared to Niko
laev's 25 — and committed 14
turnovers, which Kent said was a source
of concern for him entering the game
Better yet, they held their Ukranian
counterparts to 48.3 percent shooting
from the field.
"We can nit pick at a lot of things,
but overall we were pleased," Kent
said. "We know we've got a lot of
work to do, but considering how far
we think we need to go, I was pretty
impressed with what I saw out there
in terms of the offensive productivity,
energy, passing the ball and doing
some of those things."
Oregon's reserves combined to post
25 points, led by James Davis' 12.
Matt Short and Jordan Kent were
both kept out of the game due to foot
injuries, but both are expected to be
ready for the start of the season.
The Ducks play next against the EA
Sports All-Stars on Nov. 17 at McArthur
Court. The real games begin on Nov. 21
when Fresno State visits The Pit.
Contact the sports editor
at hankhageri@dailyemerald.com.
in the first half.
Davis was 1 for 6 from the three
point line in his 16 minutes while
earning 12 points. He was also given
minimal playing time, as was Jackson,
after injuring his ankle in last week's
scrimmage.
"James and Luke both probably
could've scored a lot more points,"
Kent said. "I wanted to make sure we
didn't push those guys too much. We
did limit them, taking into consider
ation neither one of them have really
practiced at full speed in terms of the
intensity defensively and offensively."
Even with the minor injuries —
which also included guard Jordan
Kent and center Matt Short — Oregon
played all-around solid offense.
But the tone has been set. Oregon
is fast and it plays fast. Even the big
guys recognize it.
"We're definitely going to run, we're
a running team," Crosswhite said.
With the ability to speed up or slow
down the game and set up the of
fense, Oregon proved they can play at
any tempo. And this was just the first
game. The Ducks still have plenty
more to show off.
Just wait one week.
Contact the sports reporter
at jessethomas@dailyemerald.com.
GAME
continued from page 7
They're still alive for a postseason
bowl.
"How else can we feel but great?"
quarterback Jason Fife said.
The Ducks' win moves them to
magic victory No. 6, which guaran
tees that Oregon will at least be bowl
eligible this season. The win and
losses by Washington and UCLA on
Saturday pulls Oregon into a tie for
fifth place with the Huskies and
Golden Bears.
"We did a nice job," Oregon head
coach Mike Bellotti said. "We re
grouped in the fourth quarter. We won
the fourth quarter and won the game."
The win was a total team effort,
with Oregon's defense and offense
showing up when absolutely need
ed. The offense was able to put just
seven points on the scoreboard and
gain 187 yards of total offense
through the first three quarters. But
by the same token, the Duck defense
held the Golden Bears to 10 points
and 164 yards.
That included 87 yards of passing
in three frames for California (5-6,
3-3) quarterback Aaron Rodgers,
who had completed 17 passes in 22
attempts for 307 yards last week in
the Golden Bears' 51-23 win over
Arizona State.
Overall, Oregon held California to
188 yards passing and 106 yards on
the ground.
"I know on the sidelines, watching
the defense make those last two or
three stands, it definitely did feel like a
blast from the past in some respects,"
Clemens said.
With the Ducks down 17-7 and
6:35 left in the game, Clemens began
a six-play drive that culminated in a
31-yard touchdown strike down the
middle to tight end Tim Day.
The score pulled the Ducks within
three and helped pave the way for the
Oregon defense to stop California af
ter three plays and two minutes of
possession.
That's when Clemens began Ore
gon's final drive of the game.
The Burns native ended the game 9
of 18 for 117 yards and one touch
down strike. Fife finished 8 of 16 for
107 yards and one score as well.
Clemens "did a nice job," Bellotti
said. "He started out 1 for 6 and he
missed two wide-open people. I think
he was a little jazzed, and put a little
too much on the football. Jason Fife
came in and did some great things.
He went 5 for 6 and then got cold.
That's when we decided to make that
switch and it worked out for us."
California threatened to come back
with less than a minute left in the
game.
A James Bethea kick return found
the Golden Bears at their own 25 with
47 seconds left to go. Rodgers com
pleted a 28-yard pass to Garrett Cross
to start the drive.
Burl Toler then hauled in a 14-yard
pass to the Oregon 33. An incomplete
pass to Geoff McArthur gave Califor
nia a 2nd-and-10 with 21 seconds left.
Then came an incompletion to Toler.
On 3rd-and-10, Rodgers was pres
sured by the Oregon defensive line.
Rolling right, he threw a pass to the
middle of the field where Lewis
stepped in front of the California
wide receiver at the Oregon 13 for the
interception.
'They threw two guys vertical and
max protected," Mitchell said of the
final defensive play. "One guy came
across. Keith came over and made a
great play."
That's a comeback.
Contact the sports editor
at hankhager@dailyemerald.coin.
Mark McCambridge Photographer
Oregon’s Keith Lewis tackles Golden Bears running back Adimchinobe Echemandu, who had 65 rushing yards Saturday.
SPORTS BRIEF
Setter tears ACL
Sophomore Jodi Bell tore the ante
rior cruciate ligament in her right
knee during a loss at Washington on
Saturday, Oregon head coach Carl
Ferreira said Sunday.
The setter was injured in the second
game of the match at Bank of America
Arena after landing from an attack.
Bell's injury "will have a very sig
nificant impact on us," Ferreira said.
"She's been our setter for two years
and we've developed stability with
her."
Bell recorded 15 assists before leav
ing with the injury. She is out for the
season and will have an MRI today.
Ferreira said "she'll definitely be ready
for next season."
Oregon (3-20 overall, 0-14 Pacific
10 Conference) dropped the match to
No. 11 Washington (17-7, 8-7), 3-0
(30-14, 30-19, 30-16).
Freshman Heather Madison, an
All-American setter during her senior
season at Gresham High School, will
now see significant playing time.
The Ducks also dropped a match at
Washington State (8-18,4-11) Friday,
3-0 (30-27, 30-19, 30-27).
—JonRoetman