CORVALLIS — Ernie Kent needed so many guys to stop Phillip Ricci that the Oregon head coach almost had to start his own draft in the middle of the game.
It took more than 1,200 pounds and 20 fouls from Oregon’s five post players, but the Ducks were able to contain Ricci, Oregon State’s senior forward, and in doing so, win their ninth straight game over Oregon State on Saturday.
The Ducks (17-5 overall, 7-5 Pacific-10 Conference) had one of their better team efforts of the season before 10,400 at Gill Coliseum and held Ricci, the Beavers’ top scorer and rebounder, to nine points and five rebounds in an 80-63 victory.
The first sold-out crowd at Gill Coliseum since Jan. 8, 2000 — also against the Ducks — saw Oregon win for the 19th time in the past 20 Civil Wars. The Ducks last lost to the Beavers on Jan. 30, 1999.
Three Ducks scored in double figures Saturday, led by Luke Ridnour’s 18 points and nine assists. Ridnour connected on all four of his free throw attempts to set the conference record with 51 consecutive free throws made; the previous mark was 49.
“That was the best defense we’ve played in six or eight weeks,” Kent said. “This team is starting to come right now.”
The Beavers (11-10, 4-8), meanwhile, have lost three straight. They shot a season-low 30 percent from the field, while the Ducks shot 45.5 percent and hit
14-of-28 (.500) three-pointers.
“It’s simple: They were able to shoot the basketball and we weren’t,” first-year Oregon State head coach Jay John said. “When (the Ducks) play like that, they’re clearly one of the top teams in the league. They’re fabulous.”
Ricci had 24 points and 11 rebounds in Oregon’s Jan. 18 win at McArthur Court, but was double-teamed nearly every time he touched the ball Saturday. The Ducks substituted their five post players frequently, and frustrated Ricci with physical play. Brian Helquist fouled out late in the game, while three other Oregon post players had four fouls, and the other (Jay Anderson) had three.
“Ricci is a great player, and we threw a lot of players at him,” Ridnour said. “Our game plan was to rotate five guys on him and that made it really tough for him. Our big guys did a great job.”
In a game of five on two — Oregon’s posts vs. Ricci and Brian Jackson — the Ducks proved more powerful (if only because of sheer mass) and held a 45-40 rebounding advantage. Jackson hit 10-of-13 free throws to pace the Beavers with 15 points. Ricci was just 3-of-14 from the field and finished with four fouls.
“I think (Ricci) was pretty frustrated,” John said. “They kept bringing their big guys in on him. It’s hard to shoot with 500 pounds and four arms on your body.”
On a positive note, the Beavers had just six turnovers in the game, one more than Ridnour had by himself. Oregon State had 34 free-throw attempts (converting 24 of them), while Oregon had just seven attempts from the charity stripe (hitting six).
“Before I comment too much (about the officiating), I’d better go back and look at the game again,” Kent said. “Boy oh boy, it was a physical game, but to have that lopsided fouls (called) and to still win by 17 — I’ve never seen anything like that before. We were fortunate to shoot the way we did because we were fouling way too much.”
James Davis (16 points, six assists) hit a trey with 16:27 remaining to give Oregon a 56-36 lead, its largest of the game. The closest the Beavers got was within 12 at 67-55 before Oregon closed it out.
The Ducks used a 19-2 run to take a 47-28 lead at halftime. Andre Joseph scored 14 of his 16 points, including four three-pointers, in the first half, and the Ducks had 11 three-pointers in the first 20 minutes. The Beavers shot just 24.1 percent in the first half.
Freshman guard Brandon Lincoln suffered a mild sprain to his left ankle in the first half. He could be available for Oregon’s game at Washington State on Thursday.