Oregon fans entered McArthur Court on Thursday night expecting to see the premiere of “Getting Over the Hump,” the most recent movie released by the men’s basketball team.
It was hyped as the glorious tale of a team full of young players who have struggled through adversity all season, only to capture a huge win against California, while fighting for a spot in the Pacific-10 Conference Tournament. Oregon head coach Ernie Kent, who has been directing exciting basketball flicks in Eugene for the past eight years, was said to have constructed a masterpiece.
But after 38 minutes, Thursday’s movie reeked of a bad sequel in which the Ducks would once again snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
Oregon had blown a 13-point second-half lead. Its offense had grown stagnant. And with 1:14 remaining, the Ducks sent sophomore point guard Aaron Brooks to the free-throw line with the game tied at 56.
Anyone who had taken the time to watch Oregon’s other movies knows free throws are like kryptonite to the Ducks. They struggle to knock down freebies during the opening minute of a game and become downright awful during crunch time. And when Brooks toed the foul line in front of a sellout crowd at Mac Court, the show’s ending seemed all
too predictable.
What happened next, however, was anything but expected.
After Brooks calmly knocked down his two free throws, Oregon rushed back on defense and caused Cal center Rod Benson to turn the ball over on a traveling violation.
Sixteen seconds and three team fouls later, Cal sent Brooks back to the charity stripe where he once again knocked down a pair of free throws to give Oregon a 60-56 lead.
Just when things couldn’t get any better for the Ducks, a pair of true freshmen — Bryce Taylor and Chamberlain Oguchi — knocked down 3 of 4 pressure-packed free throws during the game’s final 11 seconds to ice a 63-58 win.
Oregon knocking down 9 of 10 free throws in the second half? The Ducks committing only 11 turnovers? Such plot twists left Oregon fans roaring by movie’s, er, game’s end.
With three contests remaining on its regular-season schedule, Oregon sits in a three-way tie for seventh place in the conference. With the top eight teams advancing to the Pac-10 Tournament, the Ducks know each game is of the utmost importance.
The only question remaining is what Kent’s next movie will be titled.
“Viva Los Angeles: The Story of a Pac-10 Tournament Participant,” or “The 100th Season of Oregon Basketball: The One that Got Away?”

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