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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Ducks down Cougars

Oregon win sets up rematch with WSU in first round of Pac-10 tourney

EUGENE, Ore. – This time there was no doubt.

The Pac-10 regular season may have finished the same way as it began for the Washington State Cougars, but their inability to make shots ensured there would be no controversy at the end of Saturday’s basketball loss to Oregon.

The Cougars shot miserably in the first half, even worse to start the second and, despite another rally, fell 74-66 to the Ducks in the final Pac-10 game scheduled for McArthur Court.

A crowd of 8,761 turned out to say goodbye to Oregon’s two seniors, diminutive Tajuan Porter and injured Joevan Catron, and to see if the Ducks could avoid finishing in the Pac-10 cellar for the second consecutive year.

They did. And they were replaced by WSU, which, thanks to nine defeats in its last 11 games, fell to 6-12 in conference, 16-14 overall. The fact no Pac-10 team had ever had more conference wins and finished last was little consolation to the Cougars. But some things were.

“What we’re trying to do is play 40 minutes of effort and I thought we gave pretty close to 40 minutes of effort tonight,” WSU coach Ken Bone said. “We made mistakes like every team, and we didn’t shoot the ball very well, but I thought our effort was good and that’s important.

“They’ve beat us twice. (So) we’re looking forward to going down to L.A. and seeing what we can do.”

That will happen Wednesday, when the ninth-seeded Cougars will face No. 8 Oregon in their first Pac-10 tourney game for the fourth time in five years, with the winner moving on to play top-seeded Cal on Thursday.

They might not have the same lead Duck, however. A television report Saturday said Oregon coach Ernie Kent had been fired Feb. 22, with the dismissal effective at the end of the season.

Kent would not comment after the game, though athletic director Mike Bellotti issued a statement through an spokesperson.

“Ernie and I have talked,” said Belloti, “and we will continue to talk throughout the Pac-10 tournament.”

If it was Kent’s swan song in Eugene with Oregon (15-15, 7-11) – he’s been the Ducks’ head coach for 13 years, has guided them to the NCAA tournament five times, including two Elite Eight trips – he went out with a convincing win.

And Porter, a thorn in WSU’s side for four years, helped make it happen, with 12 second-half points. He teamed with freshman E.J. Singler, brother of Duke All-American Kyle, to score Oregon’s first 14 second-half points (Porter five, Singler nine of his 15) that built what would be an insurmountable nine-point lead.

Insurmountable because, up to that point, WSU couldn’t make a shot. The Cougars were 10 for 36 from the field, 28 percent, 5 minutes into the second half.

“We have to take our time, get an easy score and try to get back in the game,” said Nik Koprivica. “Not let them get up by 15 and then try to chase them.”

Actually, Oregon’s biggest lead was 17 (60-43 with 6:24 remaining) and though the Cougars finally started hitting from long-range – WSU sank four of its last five but finished 8 for 29 beyond the arc – they couldn’t get closer than seven.

For the game, WSU was 20 of 56 (35.7 percent) from the floor.

Klay Thompson, who hit seven of his 11 shots Thursday in the Oregon State loss, put up twice as many attempts – a Pac-10 high for him – but made just seven.

He was 4 of 14 from beyond the arc – the attempts a career high – and finished with 22 points and eight rebounds.

His 23-footer with 1:52 left lifted him over the 1,000 career-point mark, the third-fastest Cougar to hit the mark.

Oregon 74, WSU 66

WSU FG FT Reb
(16-14, 6-12) Min M-A M-A O-T A PF PTS
Thompson 35 7-22 4-4 2-8 1 4 22
Casto 32 5-8 6-8 2-10 1 1 16
Capers 16 1-2 1-2 1-1 2 5 3
Moore 36 2-7 3-4 0-3 6 2 7
Koprivica 32 2-6 4-4 2-7 2 4 10
Thames 23 2-5 0-0 0-0 0 1 5
Motum 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0
Bjornstad 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Watson 8 0-2 0-1 0-1 0 2 0
Harthun 9 1-4 0-0 0-0 0 0 3
Lodwick 6 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 200 20-56 18-23 9-32 12 20 66

Percentages: FG 35.7%, FT 78.3%. 3-Point Goals: 8-29, 27.6% (Thompson 4-14, Moore 0-3, Koprivica 2-5, Thames 1-3, Harthun 1-4). Team Rebounds: 2. Blocked Shots: 3 (Casto 2). Turnovers: 11 (Moore 4). Steals: 5 (Moore, Thames 2). Technical Fouls: None.

Oregon FG FT Reb
(15-15, 7-11) Min M-A M-A O-T A PF PTS
Longmire 29 7-12 3-4 2-10 0 3 17
Singler 32 4-7 5-5 0-3 1 4 15
Jacob 29 4-7 3-4 2-8 0 3 11
Armstead 36 2-7 0-1 0-2 7 2 4
Porter 26 3-8 4-4 0-1 2 4 12
Sim 8 2-2 0-0 1-1 0 0 5
Humphrey 15 0-2 0-2 0-4 1 2 0
Williams 10 2-5 1-2 0-1 0 0 5
Dunigan 15 2-2 1-2 1-3 1 3 5
Totals 200 26-52 17-24 7-36 12 21 74

Percentages: FG 50%, FT 70.8%. 3-Point Goals: 5-13, 38.5% (Longmire 0-2, Singler 2-3, Armstead 0-1, Porter 2-3, Sim 1-1, Humphrey 0-2, Williams 0-1). Team Rebounds: 2. Blocked Shots: 2 (Humphrey, Dunigan 1). Turnovers: 14 (Porter 4). Steals: 7 (Longmire, Armstead 2). Technical Fouls: None.

Halftime–Oregon 29 Washington State 27. A–8,761.