Oregon ended its Pacific-10 Conference regular season on a high note Saturday night, defeating Arizona 78-69 in front of 9,087 at McArthur Court to finish conference play on a three-game win streak and make its case for an NCAA Tournament at-large bid.
And while the spotlight was on the senior class playing their last game at Mac Court, sophomore guard Tajuan Porter stole the show, leading all scorers with 24 points on 8-of-11 shooting, including 5-of-8 from three-point range.
“It was the underclassmen’s job to come out and play hard and not let the seniors lose their last game,” Porter said. “Once I get going, everybody starts feeding off of it, and I was feeding off the crowd.”
Oregon (18-12, 9-9 Pac-10) was cold early, shooting 2-for-10 from beyond the arc on the way to a 38-35 halftime deficit, but would heat up in the second half, as they shot 13-for-16 (81.3 percent) from the field and 8-of-9 (88.9 percent) from beyond the arc.
Redshirt freshman LeKendric Longmire got the scoring showcase started early in the second half when he took a long outlet pass from sophomore forward Joevan Catron and sprinted down court for a thunderous two-hand slam. Longmire was whistled for a technical foul on the play for hanging on the rim, but he had succeeded in giving Oregon its first lead of the second half and ignited the Pit. Longmire had four points in 17 minutes off the bench as the Ducks’ defensive stopper, pressuring freshman guard Jerryd Bayless and even forward Chase Budinger for a stretch.
Arizona (18-13, 8-10 Pac-10) regained the lead, and led 46-42 at the 16-minute mark when Porter and the Ducks caught fire. Porter hit three triples in a row from the left wing to spark an 18-4 Oregon run, capped by a Malik Hairston three to put the Ducks up 60-50 just past the halfway point of the second half.
The Wildcats clawed their way back to within five at 70-65 with just less than three minutes remaining, but Maarty Leunen’s three pointer and two-hand slam on consecutive possessions would push the lead back to 10 and seal the victory. Leunen finished with 12 points and a season-high 15 rebounds.
“It was a great feeling. I didn’t want to be the senior to lose his last home game,” Leunen said. “It was kind of a surreal moment to have that big lead and get to thank the crowd.”
Catron had his third career double-double, and flirted with a triple-double, finishing with 10 points, 12 rebounds and a team-high seven assists. Hairston added 12 points as all five Oregon starters scored in double digits.
“Coach has been on us all week that we can’t let our seniors lose their last game at home. There was a lot of emotion in this game. Nobody wanted to lose,” Catron said. “This was a big win to get our confidence back up, and get momentum for the tournament.”
Oregon finished tied for fifth in the Pac-10 regular season, but will be the sixth seed when it faces Washington State on Thursday in the first round of the Pac-10 Tournament in Los Angeles.
“It was huge for us to finish out conference play with a three game win streak, and go into the Pac-10 Tournament with a lot of momentum to defend our title,” Leunen said.
And though some might believe the Ducks’ work is done in terms of getting an NCAA Tournament bid, Hairston said that the team doesn’t feel that way.
“We definitely still have more work to do. We’re hoping this is just the beginning,” Hairston said. “We want to repeat in the Pac-10 Tournament.”
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