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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) -- On paper, Oregon's final regular-season game
was meaningless.
With an NCAA Tournament berth already locked up for the Ducks,
and a third-place Pac-10 Conference finish set in stone, this could
have been an easy game to overlook.
If it had been any other opponent, maybe.
But Oregon State isn't just another opponent and the Civil War
isn't just another game.
Senior forward A.D. Smith scored 21 points in his final
appearance at McArthur Court as Oregon soundly defeated Oregon
State 83-65.
"I think a lot of people might have thought that this was a
game that didn't matter a whole lot," Smith said. "But we took it
seriously and Oregon State gave a good fight."
It was the fourth-straight win for the Ducks (22-7, 13-5
Pac-10), who have recorded the most regular season wins since 1945
and are headed for the NCAA Tournament for the first time since
1995. It was also Oregon's 13th victory against the Beavers in 14
games.
"The biggest thing for this team is that we are in the Dance,"
Oregon coach Ernie Kent said. "Regardless of where they seed us,
it's a positive for this program. In my opinion, we're one of the
hottest teams in top-25."
Five Ducks scored in double figures, as Alex Scales had 15
points and Darius Wright 10. With Smith, the trio combined for 46
points, 11 rebounds and seven assists.
"When you have seniors doing for your team what Oregon seniors
do for their team, that's the most important aspect of senior
leadership," Oregon State coach Eddie Payne said. "They had
terrific senior leadership tonight and they got a lot of production
from those guys."
But while the night belonged to the seniors, it was a pair of
sophomores who helped unite the Ducks. Frederick Jones, in the best
all-around performance of the night, scored 18 points, had six
assists, four rebounds, three steals and two blocks, and Anthony
Norwood came off the bench in the second half to score 11 points
and connect on all three of his 3-point attempts.
Deaundra Tanner led Oregon State (13-6, 5-13) with 19 points and
six assists.
Jones fueled an early second-half run for the Ducks, with a
3-pointer, a dunk and a pair of assists, as Oregon outscored the
Beavers 11-2 to turn a 38-32 half-time lead into a 49-34 advantage
with just more than 4 minutes played.
Oregon maintained a double-digit lead for the remainder of the
game.
Smith, who broke his left cheekbone against Southern California
two weeks ago and had surgery just 11 days earlier to repair the
injury, was seven of nine from the field and six of seven from the
free-throw line for the Ducks.
It was a free throw by Smith that broke a 25-25 tie with five
minutes to play in the first half that gave Oregon the lead for
good.
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ALSO SEE
Mens College Basketball Scoreboard
Oregon State Clubhouse
Oregon Clubhouse
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