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OSU's Sasa Cuic was held to just two points at Saturday's Civil War in Eugene. The Beavers ended their regular season with a 70-49 loss but can try to turn things around this week at the Pac-10 tournament.

Ducks dominate in season finale

Beavers look ahead to Pac-10 tournament after ending worst regular season since 1997-98

By: Frank Hoaglin

Posted: 3/5/07

EUGENE - With another Civil War matchup in the books, the Beavers ended their regular season losing to the Oregon Ducks 70-49 Saturday night. OSU's 20th loss of the season - and 14th straight loss at McArthur Court - brings the team to the second worst record in school history, dating back to the 1997-98 season under former coach Eddie Payne.

"We played hard. We took the fight to them," said Beaver forward Marcel Jones. "It was senior night, so it was emotional and they had the crowd behind them. But we had open shots and they made us play fast, and we were able to play fast, we just couldn't knock them down."

Led by senior guard Aaron Brooks, who was playing his last game at McArthur Court and is a candidate for Pac-10 Player of the Year, the Ducks took the lead with 16:47 left in the first half on a Brooks' 3. They didn't look back, leading the rest of the game and cruising to a 21-point victory. It was the Beavers' worst conference loss of the season since the game against UCLA.

"We were trying to get something going and Brooks came out and pretty much took over and hit a bunch of shots," said OSU guard Josh Tarver. "They were getting a lot of offensive rebounds that killed us."

Brooks went 4-for-4 from beyond the arc in the first half, and the Beavers scored just two points in the final 10:43 to go into the locker room down 16.

"We couldn't get any shots to go down," Tarver said. "We had wide open looks, and if those shots would have gone down it would have been a different game. Unfortunately, it wasn't."

Juniors Bryce Taylor and Maarty Leunen came up big for the Ducks, combining for 36 points. Leunen added 10 rebounds to record his eighth double-double of the season. Freshman guard Tajuan Porter added seven points.

"I felt that we played well," said OSU coach Jay John. "Oregon's offensive firepower is such that there was no way we were going to outscore them to win. We had to minimize the things that they do and make it as hard as possible for them."

The Beavers - who shot just 38 percent from the field for the game, including just 29 percent in the first half - were led by Jones' 13 points and eight rebounds. Sasa Cuic was held to just two points coming off the bench. Kyle Jeffers, the Beavers leader in rebounds, had just one.

"We couldn't hit a shot," Tarver said. "We had great looks, they just weren't going down for us."

While the regular season may be over, the Beavers look to play buzzkill as they face opening round opponent Cal Wednesday in the Pac-10 tournament.

"It's a whole new season," Jones said. "A win or go home thing. And we don't want to go home."