The Oregon men’s basketball team ended its six-game losing streak with a 69-66 win against Washington State Saturday at McArthur Court.
After a Malik Hairston free throw gave the Ducks a three-point lead with 5 seconds remaining, the Cougars had one final possession, but freshman point guard Derrick Low was forced into an off-balance three-pointer that fell well short.
The win puts Oregon (12-9 overall, 4-8 Pacific-10 Conference) back in the hunt for a berth into 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 tiebreaker over the Cougars (10-12, 5-8).
The top eight finishers in the Pac-10 qualify for the conference tournament, which his held March 10-12 in Los Angeles, with the winner gaining an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.
Oregon got big performances from each member of its much-hyped recruiting class on Saturday. Chamberlain Oguchi and Bryce Taylor each finished with a team-high 12 points, while Oguchi drained 3 of 5 three-point attempts.
Hairston and Leunen each finished with 11 points and had strong rebounding efforts, grabbing eight and seven respectively.
Low led Washington State with 19 points on 7 of 12 shooting, while Thomas Kelati added 14 points.
