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Andy Cripe/Corvallis Gazette-Times
Oregon State’s Kyle Jeffers shoots over Oregon’s Jordan Kent in the first half. Jeffers finished with nine points as the Beavers suffered a 70-64 loss Saturday. |
Oregon comes up big down stretch for win
By Cliff Kirkpatrick
Corvallis Gazette-Times
EUGENE — Moments after the pregame introductions Saturday there were wide eyes and racing hearts.
An Oregon State men’s basketball team still trying to find its way felt the moment. The Beavers were about to begin Pacific-10 Conference play, and learn something about themselves.
It was another challenging road game. This time it was before 8,301 people in McArthur Court, home of the rival to the south.
By the end of the afternoon OSU made progress in the way it plays the game, but not enough to claim the 324th Civil War.
Oregon held off a late rally for a 70-64 victory that was closer than the six-point deficit. The outcome was in question until the final seconds.
“It’s tough; tough to lose on the road, especially when we were that close,” OSU center Kyle Jeffers said.
The Beavers (7-5, 0-1) have lost 13 consecutive away games, 13 straight conference road games and dropped the 13th in a row here.
This was one of the best chances to end the traveling blues since the the Ducks (7-6, 1-0) have been struggling lately. And the dreaded rowdy home-court advantage was missing.
With school out for the holidays it wasn’t a sellout. That’s the first time that happened for a conference game since 2002 against Washington State 28 games ago. It’s also the first time the Civil War wasn’t sold out since the 1995-96 season.
“It means a whole lot when we look in the mirror every day,” OSU forward Marcel Jones said of the road losing streak. “I don’t know why it’s happening. We just have to execute when we need to.”
What the Beavers can take from the game is progress toward being competitive away from home. They rode the ebb and flow of the game, battling back to lead the game in the first half and tie it at 60 with 2:13 left.
There were breakdowns along the way, but the Beavers adjusted. And the hostile environment didn’t overwhelm them.
“We played hard,” Jeffers said. “It will come. It’s just we need to do that one little extra thing that will give us that one-point win. We can’t keep our heads down. We just have to grow.”
If the Beavers hadn’t allowed a 7-0 Oregon run to start the second half, they wouldn’t have had to fight so hard to come back. There might have been something left to take the lead.
“The problem is we play our best basketball when we get our backs against the wall,” Jones said. “We didn’t have our focus and energy coming out the second half.”
Jones tied the game the final time on a free throw, but the Ducks won it thanks to guard Aaron Brooks. He scored on a surprising 10-foot layup on the next possession.
During OSU’s response Nick DeWitz was called for a charging foul under the basket. He fouled out, and Brooks came up with another long-distance layup.
“I have no problem with Nick penetrating on that,” OSU coach Jay John said.
“I thought he came to a jump-stop. And I’m screened on that, so I have no idea (if it’s a good call). And then you don’t expect someone (Brooks) to do that.”
From there the Ducks broke OSU’s full-court press twice to pad the lead in the final seconds.
Brooks scored a game-high 19 points, helping Oregon snap a two-game losing streak and claim its first win against an in-state team in three tries.
“We needed a game like this where we had to fight and try to win it possession by possession,” Oregon coach Ernie Kent said. “We defended well and we played with a passion. We are still trying to figure out who we are as a team, but today we played a smart, controlled type of a game.”
The Beavers learned they are on the verge of a breakthrough. The final numbers show where the game was lost, and seeing that gives them confidence they can improve.
OSU shot only 52 percent from the free-throw line (11-for-21) and 18 percent from 3-point range (3-for-16). Both those averages are drastically lower than the norm.
“It was the flow of the game,” Jones said. “Players thought they could score and make jump shots. But it wasn’t working. We should have gotten the ball down low. We’ll look at tape and see what went wrong and make adjustments from there.”
The plan was to get the ball inside to Sasa Cuic, Jeffers and DeWitz but Oregon’s defense slowed that approach. The Ducks pressured the guards and made close shots difficult.
OSU didn’t panic and found good looks at the basket, hitting 49 percent from the field. However, the 17 turnovers didn’t allow for enough opportunities to score.
“We played well enough to win this game,” John said. “As a team we have a significant ceiling to shoot for. There is a lot of room for this team to grow. I’m pleased with how we played. If we played this well the first three weeks we would have a different record from 7-5.”
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