Zahn gets rare opportunity,
steps up to challenge in win
Freshman forward Adam
Zahn scored four points
and played 10 minutes
By Jesse Thomas
Sports Reporter
When forward Ian Crosswhite got
in early foul trouble and wasn't able
to contribute in the post, Oregon had
to look at other options.
Enter freshman forward Adam
Zahn, who has seen limited action
throughout the season.
"It was really nice; I actually broke a
sweat" Zahn said. "It was just nice to
get an opportunity, coach gave me it,
and so I just tried to not let him down."
Zahn finished the game with four
points and one rebound. The num
bers aren't huge, but his four points
equal a season-high and it did im
press his teammates.
"Adam Zahn is one of those guys
that comes to practice every day and
works hard," senior Luke Jackson said.
"In my opinion, he could be right in
there with all our big guys. It was nice
to see him be aggressive I was happy to
see Adam come in and do well."
All of Oregon's post players saw ac
tion in the Ducks' win against South
ern California. Senior Jay Anderson
played 16 minutes and earned five
points. Sophomore Matt Short, who
started the game, played three min
utes but didn't score.
Crosswhite played 20 minutes
without attempting a single field
goal. He earned four points off of
free throws.
Oregon head coach Ernie Kent
was happy to see his post players get
some confidence and play within
the team's system.
"Adam Zahn is one of
those guys that comes
to practice every day
and works hard. In my
opinion, he could
be right in there with
all of our big guys. It
was nice to see him
be aggressive."
Luke Jackson
Oregon forward
"When you look at Adam Zahn,
Matt Short and Jay, those guys are sys
tem players," Kent said. "They've got
to gain confidence from our numbers.
Our strength is in our numbers. As
soon as this team started to play in
rhythm and share the ball, that got
Adam Zahn involved, it got Matt in
volved and it got Jay involved."
Zahn, a native of Redondo Beach,
Calif., played 10 minutes. It was the
most minutes he has seen since
playing 19 against Santa Clara on
Dec. 18, 2003.
"For a guy that sat there all year
long and to be able to come in and
give you those minutes, my hat's off
to him, he did a tremendous job,"
Kent said.
It was a physical game between
both teams and Zahn was left to de
fend USC's Rory O'Neil, who finished
with 10 points.
Zahn had a run-in with USC's
Desmon Farmer under the hoop at
one point. Zahn went up for the shot
and Farmer was tagged with an inten
tional foul for hitting Zahn in the
head instead of going for the ball.
Zahn was happy that he was aggres
sive. The freshman was quick to al
ways turn to the basket and go up
hard rather than hesitate.
"I was kind of timid and hesitant
and I've realized that just gets you
nowhere," Zahn said. "Trying to go
up and trying to dunk everything,
tonight I should have tried to dunk
that other one. Definitely that ag
gressive nature is what coach wants
and he's probably going to give me
more playing time."
Zahn admits he still has plenty to
learn. He finished 1 for 3 from the
field and was 2 for 4 on free throws.
"Tonight I got a lot of minutes,"
Zahn said. "It gives you that confi
dence to know you can play with
somebody. I definitely think there's
going to be some times where I
might be able to step up especially
with the matchups."
Contact the sports reporter
at jessethomas@dailyemerald.com.
Adam Amato Senior Photographer
Aaron Brooks (00), Luke Jackson (33) and Jordan Kent walk off the court after the Ducks clinched a Pac-10 Tournament berth Thursday.
CLINCH
continued from page 7
leads to points, balance and less
turnovers. Oregon gave it away nine
times while earning 18 assists.
Key fact: Those nine turnovers
came a game after Oregon turned
the ball over nine times against Stan
ford. That's the first time the Ducks
have had single-digit turnovers in
two consecutive games under head
coach Ernie Kent.
"A bigger thing you need to look at
in the game is our ability to share the
ball," Kent said.
Jackson was the biggest beneficiary
of Oregon's spread-out offense. The
forward scored just two points in the
first half but scored 18 in the second
on the strength of 6 off 11 shooting
from the field. He also hit three three
pointers in the second half.
Those 20 points gave him 1,833
for his career, bumping him past
Greg Ballard for third on Oregon's
all-time list.
"It's kind of a special weekend, but
at the same time, I know my days at
Mac Court are over so I try to ap
proach every game like its my last,"
Jackson said.
Oregon controlled the second half,
but the game's fate wasn't sealed until
the final seconds ticked off the clock.
The Ducks led by six, 71-65, with a lit
tle more than two minutes to play.
That's before Jeff McMillan pulled
the Trojans to within four after a put
back off a missed shot. Jackson coun
tered with his final two points on a
layup half a minute later.
USC scored its final points of the
game when Derrick Craven hit a
three-pointer with 49 seconds left.
So the win over the Trojans seals the
Ducks' destination next week. Oregon
players said after the game that it's a
nice feeling, but not the most impor
tant thing right now. UCLA visits
McArthur Court Saturday in the team's
final regular season game.
Win that and momentum, the
Ducks said, will carry Oregon into the
Pac-10 Tournament.
"It's so important for a team to have
confidence, especially going into the
Pac-10 Tournament," Jackson said. "I
don't want to go out on a bad note at
Mac Court."
Contact tiie sports editor
at hankhager@dailyemerald.com.
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