Sports Editor: Hank Hager hank hager@dailyemerald.com Monday, March 15, 2004 -Oregon Daily Emerald SPORTS Best bet NHL: New Jersey vs. N.Y. Rangers 4 p.m., ESPN2 Stanford swats Oregon's upset bid The Ducks came close Friday, but couldn’t upset Stanford in the Pac-10 Tournament By Hank Hager Sports Editor LOS ANGELES — Slouched in the Los Angeles Clippers' locker room, Luke Jackson sat stunned in near disbelief at what Oregon had gone through just 15 minutes before. The Ducks had Stanford where they wanted them all game. Oregon was in prime position to upset the No. 2 team in the country and top seed in the Pacific-10 Conference Tournament. Then a shot — or lack thereof — sig naled the end. WIEN'S BASKETBALL With 2:19 left, Jackson went up for a three-pointer that would have put the Ducks up by three. Stanford's Matt Lottich came from Jackson's right, blocked the senior's shot and went running. Josh Childress grabbed the blocked shot, sent it up court to Lottich, who went up for a layup and was fouled by Andre Joseph. Lottich sank his only free throw, putting Stanford up by three, 64-61. That proved to be it. The dagger that went through Oregon's heart in a 70-63 defeat at Staples Center. "1 didn't even see him," Jackson said of Lottich. "I don't know. He came up from my blind side. I wish I had that one over." "Everyone was scrambling on the play and I saw Luke with the ball," Lottich said. "He is so clutch and I knew if he got it up, he would make it." Maybe Lottich got a piece of Jackson in addition to the ball, maybe he didn't. Jack son didn t think so. "It was a dean block, I thought," Jackson said. "I didn't see him coming. I thought I was wide open. I even kind of took my time. He just came screaming from the oth er side. But that's not an excuse." Oregon shouldn't have even been that close. Jackson scored three points in the first half; Oregon had 24. The Ducks shot 31 percent from the field in the first half, created just three assists and was 3 of 12 from beyond the three-point line Stanford, however, couldn't piece to gether any kind of attack. The Cardinal looked flat, sluggish and seemingly in awe of the fact that a team it had beat by 21 points less than three weeks ago was hanging in there. Stanford (29-1 overall) had 23 points in the first half, the sixth opponent this season that Oregon (15-12) has held to less than 25 to start the game. The Cardinal did n't earn an offensive rebound until the second half. "I think we were the aggressor for most of the game," Oregon forward Mitch Platt said. "Their backs were against the ropes most of the time. We battled, but there were a couple key moments where if you have a mental lapse, the/re all over it." Maybe that was the difference between the Ducks and the Cardinal. Stanford did n't physically overwhelm Oregon. The Car dinal was out-rebounded by four, and by six on the offensive glass. Stanford shot 4 of 11 from beyond the three-point line; the Ducks were 8 for 25. "You can't tell me that Stanford is that much more athletic or bigger than we are," Jackson said, still stunned, hanging his head at times. "A lot of that is leader ship and understanding their roles on the team. When you have seniors and juniors that have played a lot of minutes, which they do have, you're able to dig out wins where it's a little bit tougher with younger guys." Turn to STANFORD, page 12A Karl Mondon Contra Costa Times Matt Haryasz kept Mitch Platt from getting to the basket on this play. Stanford eventually won the Pac-10 Tournament. Hank Hager Behind the dish Cardinal too much for Jackson LOS ANGELES — Entering Oregon's game with Stanford on Eriday at Staples Center, Oregon forward Luke Jackson needed a quiet 20 points. He absolutely needed to allow the Ducks' offense a chance to spread out, which would have given James Davis, An dre Joseph and whoever wanted to step up in the post area looks at the basket. Jackson had a quiet 12 points against the Cardinal, the second-lowest scoring output of the season. His worst output? Eleven in Oregon's loss to Washington in Seattle, a game the Ducks had led by as much as 13. That's beside the point. Eor all the issues the Ducks faced against Stanford, Jackson's inability to get any kind of decent looks at the basket was the most pressing. Time after time, the Cardinal made sure to get a hand in the senior's face. Whether that was Matt Ix>ttich, Josh Childress, or even at times Nick Robinson, it didn't matter. Jackson had three points in die first half. Surprisingly, the Ducks managed to take a one-point lead at halftime. Turn to HAGER, page 12A Cal can’t come through, misses postseason AmitTamir scored 24 points in his final game in a California uniform By Hank Hager Sports Editor LOS ANGELES — California need ed to get to the Pacific-10 Conference Champi onship game just to be eli gible for the nit. But it didn't happen. The Golden Bears left the Ducks as the only Pac-10 team eligible for the less than-desired postseason tournament. "You always hope for them as sen iors that this won't be their last game," California head coach Ben Braun said. "I think (A.J. Diggs) came out with a lot of intensity in the first half. He single-handedly kept our team in the game in the first half." Diggs had 11 points in his final game for California, shooting 3 for 3 from the field and 4 for 4 from the free-throw line. That, however, isn't nearly enough to overshadow the lack of postseason for the Golden Bears. It's the first time since the 1997-98 season, Braun's sec ond in Berkeley, that California will miss the postseason altogether. Better yet, it's the first time since 2000 that the Golden Bears won't go to the NCAA Tournament. "Talent-wise, the sky is the limit for (California)," third-year senior Amit Tamir said. "This year was a learning experience for them. We learned to bring consistent energy. They can do great things next year. They can make an even better run." The Golden Bears loseTamir, Diggs, Conor Famulener and Gabriel 1 lughes. Hughes didn't participate in Califor nia's game against Oregon due to what was reportedly unhappiness with the playing time he was being given. Last