Oregon daily emerald., January 10, 2005, Image 7

“I let my teammates and my coaches down, and I
wasn ’t able to look them in the eye when I came
back in the lockerroom. ”
Nate Kaeding | San Diego kicker on missing a potential playoff game-winning field goal.
■ In my opinion
CLAYTON JONES
SEVENTH INNING STRETCH
Ducks had
everything
clicking in
Civil War
Everything seemed to be just right for the
Ducks Saturday night.
The Pit Crew was in full force for the first
time since school returned to session.
Oregon head coach Ernie Kent said it had
been the team’s best week of practice.
Heck, even Oregon alumni Joey Harrington
and Phil Knight donned Pit Crew shirts.
Oregon State didn’t stand a chance.
This Ducks came out hyped up and ready
to play, and they let everyone within shouting
distance know it. The 73-64 final score doesn’t
begin to show the dominance Oregon had
over its orange-and-black rival to the north.
Right away the game took on a physical
tone as Mitch Platt dove on Croatian freshman
Sasa Cuic, fighting hard for a loose ball.
Ian Crosswhite showed fire and determina
tion throughout the game, with dives to the
floor and nine rebounds.
Maarty Leunen, Malik Hairston and Jordan
Kent lulled the Beavers on the boards with
their never-ending energy.
This is just what Oregon needed.
They finally took advantage of their size
and strength. Added to that was something
that had been missing in the Ducks’ first two
Pacific-10 Conference games — toughness.
The pure effort and tenacity that was on
Mac Court Saturday night was big for this
young Duck team.
For one, Oregon outrebounded Oregon
State 44-20.
Oregon fought for every loose or tipped
ball, creating a ton of second chances.
And it wasn’t only rebounding.
The Duck bigjnen rejected sue shots and al
tered a lot more.
Leading the way was the tireless effort of
Ray Schafer. The 7-foot redshirt freshman
blocked two Beaver shots and got his long
arms in front of many others.
He rushed to help up any teammate that fell
to the floor.
What else do you expect from a guy who
goes old-school Vanilla Ice-style with shaved
lines in his head and has his own fan club?
Then there is the heart and soul of this
team, Aaron Brooks.
Brooks controls the game with his guard
play. The Ducks won’t have to worry about a
man-to-man press all year as Brooks’ ball-han
dling skills will carve up any defense.
Oregon State’s point guard Jason Fontenet
tried to talk trash, but to quote the Pit Crew,
“You can’t guard him.” Brooks said he didn’t
respond much, but you know with every nod
or smile after another shot dropped, he had
said enough.
And Dante Rosario: watch out, because
Brooks gave a great lead block for Bryce Taylor
on a break-away layin. For some reason, I
don’t think Ernie Kent would be too excited
about that prospect.
It was a great night for Duck basketball.
The Pit Crew was even chanting toward foot
ball recruits in the stands to encourage them
to attend Oregon.
This game could be a great springboard for
JONES, page 9
■ Men's basketball
Oregon uses home advantage
to outdo Oregon State 73-64
With a sold-out Mac Court crowd
in support, the Ducks dominated
their Pac-10 foe Saturday night
BY ALEX TAM
DAILY EMERALD FREELANCE REPORTER
Back in October, Oregon head coach Ernie
Kent told his young team at a retreat that there
would be some bumps in the road throughout
the season.
Oregon needed to focus on moving beyond dif
ficult losses.
After a home loss to UCLA last Sunday, the
Ducks proved they took that talk to heart with
Saturday's 73-64 Civil War victory against Oregon
State in front of 9,087 fans at McArthur Court.
“We had one last week that got away from us,”
Kent said. “But I'm really, really proud of this
team and the way they bounced back and went
to work.”
Oregon (10-2 overall, 2-1 Pacific-10 Confer
ence) used an effective zone defense during the
game that forced the Beavers’ guards to shoot
poorly from the perimeter. Oregon State’s J.S.
Nash, Jason Fontenet and Chris Stephens com
bined to shoot just 5 of 24 from the field, includ
ing 2 of 14 from three-point range.
“The zone, in my opinion, is our best defense,”
Kent said. “We can play with it and pick and
choose when we want it. The reason it's so good
is because we are long and athletic.”
The zone has now become a staple for the
MEN, page 9
Erik R. Bishoff | Photographer
Oregon guard Aaron Brooks drives past Oregon State’s Jason Fontenet in the Ducks’ 73
64 Civil War victory Saturday. Brooks was the game’s leading scorer with 24 points.
■ Women's basketball
Ducks slap Beavers with an 82-58
Civil War defeat on Corvallis turf
L^n iuuLt> lu im\)\vvmg iu>
record to 10-4, Oregon led
by as many as 31 points
BY BRIAN SMITH
SPORTS REPORTER
CORVALLIS — The Oregon women’s
basketball team was in search of a com
plete game on both the offensive and de
fensive ends.
Saturday’s Civil War was a great time
for that to happen.
Oregon captured its first Pacific-10
Conference road victory of the season
with an 82-58 drubbing of Oregon State
in front of 3,752 fans at Gill Coliseum.
The Ducks improved their record to
10-4 overall and 3-2 in the Pac-10, while
the Beavers (4-10, 0-5) suffered their
worst home Civil War defeat since a 72
47 loss in 1986.
“It was great,” Oregon guard Chelsea
Wagner said of the team’s all-around
game. “ We feed off our defense, and we
know offensively it will come.”
The Ducks’ offense showed up early
and stayed for the entire game as Oregon
shot 55 percent in the contest — includ
ing 58 percent in the second half.
Oregon’s 82 points was the highest
output of the season.
Oregon senior Andrea Bills — coming
off a four-point performance against
UCLA last week — led the Ducks in
scoring with 17 on 7 of 10 shooting. Bills
missed her first three shots of the game
before connecting on her last seven.
Her second field goal, a layin with 14
Nicole Barker | Photographer
Oregon shooting guard Chelsea Wagner moved into ninth place on the school’s career list for
three-pointers made (70) in Saturday’s game at Gill Coliseum.
minutes and 57 seconds left to play in
the first half, gave her 1,001 career
point. She became the 17th Oregon
player to reach the 1,000 point mark.
Three other players for the Ducks
recorded double-digits in points.
Wagner, after tying a career-high in
points (21) against UCLA last game,
added 14 points on 4 of 9 shooting
from behind the arc, moving her into
ninth place on Oregon’s career three
point list with 70.
The junior also held Oregon State’s
leading scorer, Shannon Howell to 6 of
19 shooting for the game.
“I think we really stayed true to our
defensive game plan,” Oregon head
coach Bev Smith said. “(Shannon)
Howell is certainly someone who is in
your attention, and I thought that
Chelsea did a really good job of get
ting her under wraps.”
Oregon senior Cathrine Kraayeveld
WOMEN, page 9
GAME TIME
Thurs., Jan. 13
Men's basketball:
Oregon @ Washington
7 p.m.
Women’s
basketball:
Oregon vs. Washington
7 p.m.
Fit, Jan. 14
Wrestling:
Oregon vs.Boise State,
7 p.m.
Sat., Jan. 15
Women’s
basketball:
Oregon vs. Washington
State, 7 p.m.
Men’s basketball:
Oregon @ Washington
State, 2 p.m.
OREGON
SCORES
Tues., Jan. 4
Women's
basketball:
UCLA 70, Oregon 54
UO: Wagner 21 pts.
UCLA: Blue 16 pts.
Fri., Jan. 7
Wrestling:
Oregon 28, Southern
Oregon 11
Oregon 34, South Dakota
State 12
Sat., Jan. 8
Women's
basketball:
Oregon 82, Oregon
State 58
UO: Bills 14 pts, 7 rebs
Men’s basketball:
Oregon 73, Oregon
State 64
UO: Brooks 24 pts, 3 assts
REGIONAL
& NATIONAL
SCORES
Sat., Jan. 8
NFC wildcard:
St. Louis 27, Seattle 20
STL: Holt 6 rec,
108 yds, 1TD
SEA: Hasselbeck 27/43,
341 yds, 2 TD, 1INT
AFC wildcard:
N.V. Jets 20,
San Diego 17, (OT)
NYJ: Pennington 23/33,
279 yds, 2 TD
SD: Brees 31/42,319 yds,
2 TD, 1 INT
Sun., Jan. 9
NFC wildcard:
Minnesota 31, Green
Bay 17
MIN: Culpepper 19/29,
284 yds, 4 TD
GB:Favre 216 yds, 4 INT
AFC wildcard:
Indianapolis 49, Denver 24
IND: Mannmg4TD