Fate must have driven it.
The Washington Huskies, down 71-70 with 24 seconds in overtime, call backup freshman point guard Curtis Allen’s number to make what would be the go-ahead layup.
The ball kisses the backboard before falling in.
“I was anxious,” Allen said, higher than life. “I knew I had to get the ball up.”
The Oregon Ducks, down 72-71 with six seconds left in overtime, lose the ball and scramble for it. The ball ends up in freshman point guard Luke Ridnour’s hands. Ridnour flings the ball upward as the buzzer sounds.
The ball falls in … an instant too late.
“I just flicked it up to the basket,” a dejected Ridnour said. “I didn’t know how much time was left. It just came to me.”
This was not the first time Ridnour and Allen have clashed. Ridnour, a three-time Washington state class 2A player of the year from Blaine, Wash., was considered the best recruit to come out of Washington last season. Allen, the Washington state class 4A player of the year out of Tacoma, Wash., was considered the second best.
“Me and Luke have been playing each other since sixth grade,” Allen said. “He’s a great player more power to him. It was fun to compete against him tonight.”
“[Allen] stepped it up tonight,” Ridnour said. “He kept them in the game. He played really good.”
Allen jump-started his team in the second half, making layup after layup and scoring a career-high 12 points and six rebounds for the victorious Huskies.
In the second half, Ridnour played almost flawlessly, scoring eight points, making a key steal and committing zero turnovers.
But where were the freshman counterparts in the first half?
The two combined for zero points, one assist and seven turnovers.
Ridnour struggled as the Ducks fell behind by as many as 13 points in the first half. Allen carried his team through the second half as the Huskies squandered their lead.
But both players found their groove and the ball when it counted.
“Curtis had a great game,” Washington head coach Bob Bender said. “He had the space to put the ball through comfortably.”
Bender went up to Ridnour following the hectic finish.
“I told Luke, ‘Keep your head up. You did good,’” Bender said.Allen and Ridnour will no doubt meet many more times on the court in the next four years, although they may never play in a Pacific-10 Conference game more exciting than their first against each other.
Rivals Ridnour, Allen face off in overtime shocker
Daily Emerald
January 18, 2001
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