Oregon daily emerald., January 03, 2005, Page 13, Image 13

■ Duck wrestling
Wrestling sees mixed results
in winter break matchups
Individual successes in tournaments balance out
team losses in duals against OSU and Nebraska
BY SCOTT ADAMS
DAILY EMERALD FREELANCE REPORTER
The Oregon wrestling team
kept busy during winter break,
competing in two team duals and
two tournaments.
Senior Scott Barker took fifth place
Wednesday in the 197-pound weight
class at the 42nd-annual Midlands
Tournament.
Barker leads the Ducks in pins
this season with 11, and he im
proved his record to 18-5 at the
tournament held at Northwestern
University, in Evanston, 111. As a
fifth seed, Barker rallied his way
into the fifth-place finals after losing
his opening two matches. Barker
started the tournament with a loss
to top-seeded Jon Trenge of Lehigh
by a 2-1 decision.
Barker then advanced to the con
solation semifinals, which pitted
him against third-seeded Sean
i i'i—ii mi
Stender of Northern Iowa. Stender
walked away victorious with a 6-2
decision, sending Barker to a final
match against sixth-seeded Tyrone
Boyd of Illinois. Barker won by for
feit for fifth place. The forfeit came
as a reward for Barker, who wres
tled well despite his two losses.
“Scott has wrestled tough all sea
son, and he continued to do that
today,” head coach Chuck Kearney
said. “He faced two of the top
wrestlers in the nation and was
in both of those matches. I’m
pleased with the way he was able to
come back.”
On Dec. 19, the Ducks competed
in the 19-team Reno Tournament of
Champions where they took fourth.
Barker took second place individu
ally. Barker’s tournament record
was 4-1, with all of his wins coming
by way of pin. Juniors Joey Braca
monte and Martin Mitchell both
placed third in the 165- and 133
pound weight classes, respectively.
Bracamonte closed out the tourna
ment by winning his final six match
es. Sophomore Cody Parker also
placed, taking fifth in the heavy
weight division. Kearney was pleased
with Parker’s outing.
“He had a very good day and is
close to becoming the wrestler he is
capable of being,” Kearney said.
Oregon saw action Dec. 11 as the
team faced No. 4 Nebraska in a
much-anticipated dual at McArthur
Court. The Duck faithful were in full
force that evening but could not lift
Oregon past the Cornhuskers, who
took a 39-10 victory. Once again, the
Ducks were crippled by injuries —
Shane Webster and Bracamonte were
not able to wrestle.
Mitchell and Barker were the only
Ducks to record victories in the dual.
Barker tallied a major decision over
B.J. Patton, and Mitchell pinned Do
minick Moyer midway through the
first period.
WRESTLING, page 14
Danieli.f. Hickey | Photo editor
Oregon's Maarty
Leunen fights off
the pressure of
UCLA’s Dijon
Thompson during
the Ducks’ loss to
the Bruins on
Sunday. Leunen
grabbed a team
high 10 rebounds
in the losing effort.
Men: Ducks' home win streak is snapped
Continued from page 11
guards caused turnovers and was the
key to victory, UCLA head coach Ben
Howland said.
“This was a big victory for us in a
tough environment,” Howland said.
“Our defense played great during the
first 10 minutes of the game. We also
took better care of the ball in the sec
ond half and were more patient.”
Kent said UCLA’s defensive effort
wasn’t as much the cause of Ore
gon’s lackluster offensive perform
ance as was their inability to focus.
“I give UCLA credit, but I felt this
had nothing to do with their defense
as much as it had to do with our
mental approach,” Kent said. “We
were out of our rhythm and made a
lot of careless turnovers. We were not
as sharp and didn’t come to play
with the right amount of intensity.”
Oregon point guard Aaron Brooks,
who admittedly had an off-day with
14 points on 4 of 12 shooting and
four turnovers to one assist, agreed.
“I just couldn’t get myself on
track,” Brooks said. “They did a great
job on transition, and we didn’t get
out a run.”
After trailing at halftime, the Ducks
would claw their way back to within
two points thanks to excellent bench
play from Brandon Lincoln and Jor
dan Kent.
“Jordan and Brandon brought a lot
of energy to us late in the game and
helped us get back in the game,”
Ernie Kent said.
The Ducks were within two at 56
54, but UCLA senior Brian Morrison
hit a deep three pointer at the top of
the key to boost the Bruins and cut the
momentum out from under Oregon.
Morrison’s three pointer was the
last of five he would hit in the game,
accounting for all 15 of his points.
“We knew about Morrison coming
into the game and knew he was a big
time three point shooter,” Kent said.
The Bruins would ice the game,
making 9 of 10 free throws down
the stretch.
The victory marks the first time
UCLA has won at McArthur Court
since 2001 and breaks a 10-gaine
winning streak the Ducks had
at home.
For the Ducks, their two starting
freshmen — Malik Hairston and
Bryce Taylor — combined for 3 of 10
from the field, scored 10 points,
grabbed five rebounds, dished out 3
assists, turned the ball over four
times and only took one shot in the
second half, numbers way below
Kent’s expectations.
“He’s a guy that needs to be a fac
tor,” Kent said of Hairston. “The two
of them need to (combine) and give
us Luke Jackson-type numbers.”
On a positive note, freshman
Maarty Leunen put in another solid
day of work, grabbing 10 rebounds
while scoring six points and collect
ing a steal.
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