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.
To move on after difficult losses was something they needed to focus on.
After a home loss to UCLA last Sunday, the Ducks certainly remembered
what their coach said with Saturday’s 73-64 Civil War victory over
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 Conference) used a very effective
zone defense during the game that led to Oregon State’s guards to
shoot poorly from the perimeter. Beavers’ guards J.S. Nash, Jason
Fontenet and Chris Stephens combined for just 5 of 24 from the field.
“The zone, in my opinion, is our best defense,” Kent said. “The reason
it’s so good is because we are long and athletic.”
The defense allowed to Ducks to jump out to a 15-point lead to start
the second half. The Beavers got no closer than seven points the rest
of the way.
Oregon’s Aaron Brooks scored 15 points in the second half, including
two back-breaking three-pointers to spark the victory. Brooks finished
the game with 24 points on 9 of 15 shooting, along with three rebounds
and three assists.
“He made things happen,” Oregon State head coach Jay John said of
Brooks. “He’s a marquee player in the league, so you kind of expect
that.”

Brooks credited his team’s defense that held the Beavers to a woeful
39.6 percent from the field. It allowed the Ducks to get out and run
to use their athleticism to their advantage.
“We got out and ran and it all started with defense,” Brooks said. “We
had some big stops and boxed out and we got out. We kept running.”
The only other Duck to score in double figures was center Ian
Crosswhite, who had 11 points and added nine rebounds.
Oregon State (10-4, 2-1) managed the keep the score within two points
through the first 15 minutes of the game. That was until the Ducks
went on a 10-2 run in the first half that included a Jordan Kent
breakaway dunk and a three-pointer from Maarty Leunen and Brooks.
“It was just important to get back on track and start to play good
basketball and back to where we’re defending people,” Kent said.
The Beavers were led by David Lucas, who scored 15 points and grabbed
seven rebounds.
Next up for Oregon is a trip to Seattle to face Washington on Jan. 13 at 7 p.m.

Alex Tam is a freelance reporter for the Oregon Daily Emerald.