The Oregon men’s basketball team ended its six-game losing streak with a 69-66 win against Washington State on Saturday at McArthur Court.
After a Malik Hairston free throw gave the Ducks a three-point lead with 5.9 seconds remaining, the Cougars had one final possession to tie the game, but freshman point guard Derrick Low was forced into an off-balanced three-pointer that fell well short.
The win puts Oregon (12-9 overall,
4-8 Pacific-10 Conference) back into the hunt for a berth in the Pac-10 Tournament. The Ducks still own the conference’s ninth spot but are now only a game behind three teams and own a potential tie-breaker over the Cougars (10-12, 5-8).
“We needed a win more than anything,” Hairston said. “It still wasn’t the most pretty basketball that we could have played, but a win is a win at this point in time.”
The top eight finishers in the Pac-10 qualify for the conference tournament — held March 10-12 in Los Angeles — with the winner gaining an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.
Oregon led for 38 minutes of Saturday’s contest but almost gave away the game late in the second half. After regaining a 67-66 lead on a Bryce Taylor layin with
61 seconds remaining, the Ducks once again froze up at the foul line. Oregon had six attempts to pad its lead during the game’s final 25 seconds but connected on only two of its free throws.
However, the Ducks managed to
survive and focused on the play of their four true freshmen instead. Chamberlain Oguchi, Maarty Leunen, Taylor and Hairston all scored double figures and played key roles in the game.
Oguchi, whose playing time has
increased as of late, came off the bench to score 12 points and knock down a trio of three-pointers in 15 minutes.
“I can contribute to this team’s success, and everybody knew that all along,” Oguchi said. “Now my time has come, and I have to show these people what I have.”
Taylor also scored a team-high 12 points, while Leunen and Hairston added 11 points each.
While Hairston made some outstanding plays offensively — including a layin with his headband pulled over his eyes — his biggest play came on defense. With Oregon leading 68-66, Washington State forward Chris Schlatter flashed open for the tying basket with less than 10 seconds remaining. But when Low tried to get him the ball, Hairston knocked away the slow bounce pass and saved the game.
The freshman swingman said after the game that he made a “nice read.”
Hairston also finished with a game-high eight rebounds as the Ducks out rebounded the undersized Cougars, 31-22.
Low played well for Washington State and kept the Cougars in the ball game with his perimeter shooting. The Honolulu, Hawaii, native scored a game-high
19 points on 7 of 12 shooting. Senior Thomas Kelati added 14 points for the Cougars on 5 of 9 shooting.
Oregon head coach Ernie Kent said Saturday’s win was an important confidence builder for a young team fighting to make the Pac-10 Tournament.
“I’m extremely happy for this team,” Kent said. “The game actually became a miniature version of our season. We played well and looked good early on and then we started to struggle. The good thing was they found a way to win down the stretch.”