Oregon avoids upset

Mark this one down as survival of the fittest.

And if it weren’t for two free throws in the final seconds of the game, this could have been the biggest upset of the first round.

Maarty Leunen sank two shots from the line with 5 seconds left and the third-seeded Oregon Ducks (27-7) held on in a lackluster performance with a 58-56 victory over 14th-seeded Miami (Ohio) in an NCAA tournament game Friday afternoon at the Arena.

Had Leunen not made the free throws, Michael Bramos’ half-court Hail Mary at the buzzer would have sent the nail-biter into overtime.

The unlikely bucket and the Ducks’ ultimate marginal win felt a little like déjÀ vu to Oregon coach Ernie Kent. Only this time, it went Oregon’s way.

“USC, at home, when they beat us, they scored six points in something like 3 seconds and hit a shot like that,” Kent said of the regular-season game against the Trojans. “But really it wasn’t necessarily escape – you sit there and say you do have a big cushion. Obviously, it would have been a different situation in a two-point, three-point game. If it were a three-point game, we would have defended it differently.

“But having the lead in the game was just a matter of not letting them throw up a Hail Mary.”

But it wasn’t their defense that gave the Ducks trouble. In fact, it kept them in the game.

The Ducks (43 percent from the field) and RedHawks (47 percent) were mostly even on offense. It was Oregon’s stubborn zone-matchup defense that allowed the sluggish Ducks to survive.

“I felt like we were a little bit jittery out (of) the gate,” Kent said. “I liked the way the matchup zone gave us a chance to get some energy on the floor … we used the matchup to beat Washington State and bash Washington and California.”

Still, Tim Pollitz managed to score 21 points and Bramos added 18 for Miami (18-15).

“You’ve got to realize we held them to 56 points. And we held USC down, and held Arizona to 50 points (during the regular season). We’re a really good defensive team and Sunday is going to be another big challenge for us defensively, hopefully with a chance to open up the offense a little more.”

It wasn’t all bad on offense for the Ducks, who meet Winthrop – a No. 11 seed – in the second round.

Star guard Aaron Brooks, who scored a quiet four points in the first half, finished with 18 points and five assists. Bryce Taylor added 14 points and Leunen finished with 13 and a team-high seven rebounds.

Against Winthrop, though, Oregon will have to be better.

The Cinderella-dubbed Eagles were hot in their victory over sixth-seeded Notre Dame.

“I don’t think Winthrop plays the way (Miami) played today,” Kent said. “This team made the game tough. Just because, again, they shortened down the game, limited the number of possessions and milked the clock.

“I don’t think against Winthrop you can get into this type of a game, I don’t think they’re going to play that way and we’re not. I would like to think we need to play better … we’re going to have to play better just in terms of a little bit sharper in that game with Winthrop.”

The Ducks face the Eagles in Sunday’s second round at 11:50 a.m. at the Arena.