The final Civil War showdown at historic McArthur Court didn’t quite go the way the Oregon men’s basketball team had hoped.
After an emotional beginning to the evening with the retirement of former Oregon standout Terrell Brandon’s jersey, the Ducks (10-5, 2-1 Pacific-10 Conference) found themselves on the losing end of a 64-57 contest with in-state rival Oregon State.
The Beavers (7-8, 1-2 Pac-10) got strong performances out of their big men, as senior center Roeland Schaftenaar and junior forward Daniel Deane proved too much for reigning Pac-10 Player of the Week Michael Dunigan. Deane finished with 15 points, eight rebounds and one block to lead Oregon State, while senior forward Seth Tarver also chipped in 15 to go along with his four steals.
Oregon State jumped out to an 8-0 lead early in the first half, and its heavily-touted 1-3-1 zone defense clearly threw a fork in the Ducks’ back court as they began the game with five straight turnovers. It took Oregon more than three minutes to get its first shot attempt in the air.
“It wasn’t like practice,” senior Tajuan Porter said. “We did it in practice, but they play it much tougher than we did.”
Sophomore point guard Malcolm Armstead got his first taste of Civil War basketball and saw more of Seth Tarver’s 6-foot-5-inch, 210-pound frame at the top of the key than he cared to handle. Armstead and Porter finished the night with ten total turnovers, with seven coming in the first half.
Porter led the way for Oregon offensively, despite being held to just two points in the first half on 0-of-4 from the field. He finished with a game-high 20 points in 37 minutes of action, but was unable to get anything going from beyond the three-point line, finishing the game 3-of-11. As a team Oregon shot a season-low 20-percent from downtown (4-of-20) to match the Beavers’ 4-of-13 effort.
“I don’t think we did a very good job, obviously, of explaining to this basketball team the intensity of this rivalry,” 13th-year head coach Ernie Kent said. “Because this was not the same team we had out on the road last week with the focus we had in that ball game.”
Kent continued to give praise to Oregon State head coach Craig Robinson after the game, admiring the way he was able to refocus his squad after a 51-point loss to Seattle University just four days earlier. That focus was certainly playing into the Beavers’ favor last night, with the majority of the lose balls and timely buckets going their way.
Oregon State out-rebounded the Ducks 37-30 on the night and shot 14 more free throws, despite ultimately losing the turnover battle (14-12). They also out ran the speedy Oregon team in the open court, converting on 10 fast break points and holding the Ducks to zero.
“Yeah, it hurts a lot,” Dunigan said. “Nothing we can do about it now.”
Dunigan finished the night with a quiet eight points, eight rebounds and one block in his 20 minutes of playing time.
The loss snapped the Ducks’ six-game winning streak and was the first Beaver victory in Eugene since March 6, 1993.
“They were mentally locked in,” Porter said. “You know, we came out passive and they kept their focus throughout the game, and they stayed poised and they played right through the crowd.”
“There’s been some great Civil War games in this building,” Kent said. “And my hat’s off to them because they won the last one in this building.”
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