Luke Ridnour had 24 of Oregon’s final 34 points in their 76-66 win Saturday night.
He isn’t faster than a speeding bullet. Or stronger than a freight train.
But Luke Ridnour is Oregon’s Superman.
With “the other” Luke — Luke Jackson — on the bench with a severely lacerated finger, Ridnour scored 24 of the Ducks’ final 34 points to rescue Oregon from a loss to lowly Washington State. The Ducks trailed 32-31 at halftime, but thanks in large part to Ridnour, they buried the Cougars in the second half and won the game 76-66 in front of a sold-out McArthur Court crowd.
“With about 30 seconds left in halftime, I called (Ridnour) over to the sidelines and told him to take over the game,” Oregon head coach Ernie Kent said. “I felt, as a team, we were a little stagnant; we needed a little more leadership out there. He needed to be a little bit more forceful with things.”
Ridnour was forceful with the ball in the second frame. With a little more than seven minutes on the clock and the score tied at 51, Ridnour drove the lane, hit a runner and was fouled. He completed the three-point play to spark a 15-5 run that broke the game open. Ridnour scored 11 of those 15 points.
Ridnour finished the game with 28 points to lead all scorers, and added seven assists. Ian Crosswhite continued to wield a hot hand, scoring 14 points. Andre Joseph, subbing into the starting lineup for the injured Jackson, had 11 points, including a spectacular dunk at the end of the game. Joseph, on a break, bounced the ball to himself and slammed it home, causing Kent to call him over to the sideline.
“We had a parenting moment,” Kent said of the conversation between him and Joseph. “Any of you who have children will understand what a parenting moment is.”
It doesn’t take a child to see that the Cougars — who haven’t won a Pacific-10 Conference game since Jan. 31, 2002 — weren’t the best team to walk into Mac Court this season. Washington State’s one conference victory last year was a two-point win over Washington, and then the Cougars lost their top returning scorer, Marcus Moore, for the season to an injury.
That’s why the halftime standings were distressing to some Ducks.
“We took them lightly; we didn’t think they would be as good as they were,” Joseph said. “When we came out of halftime, we got our composure together.”
Joseph seemed nervous stepping in for Jackson at first, but warmed up as the game went on. He went 0-for-4 from the field in the first half, but went 4-for-7 in the second frame.
The Ducks all agreed that the game was good because it allowed them to adjust to Jackson’s absence before hitting the road next week to play UCLA and USC.
Oregon will have to play those two games on the road, where the Ducks have been shaky this season. Oregon is 2-3 on the road, not including its win over Kansas in the Papé Jam, which was played at the Rose Garden in Portland.
“We have to understand that (going on the road) isn’t a vacation,” Oregon guard James Davis said. “It’s not just a chance to eat dinner and stay in nice hotels.”
The last time Oregon went on the road was a disastrous trip to the Bay Area, where the Ducks were blown out by a combined 40 points at California and Stanford. But the Oregon players say they’ve put that behind them, and, after winning four straight, look to turn their road woes around in Southern California.
“Our goal was to come back here and win all four of these games,” Ridnour said. “Now we have to regroup and hope for the best.”
Oregon’s game against UCLA on Thursday will be televised on Fox Sports Net. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
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