By ANNE M. PETERSON, AP Sports Writer
January 26, 2003
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) -- During warmups before the second half against Washington State, Oregon coach Ernie Kent pulled over guard Luke Ridnour and told him to take over.
Ridnour went on to score 24 of his 28 points in the remaining half as the No. 23 Ducks overcame a first-half deficit to beat the Cougars 76-66 Saturday night.
It was Washington State's eighth straight loss.
The Ducks (14-4, 4-3 Pacific-10), playing without injured starting forward Luke Jackson, trailed 32-31 at the halftime. But they but came back with renewed energy to lead by as many as 13 points in the second half.
Ridnour had seven assists and was 11-for-11 at the free-throw line. The Ducks made 19 of 19 foul shots overall.
``Everyone will have to do more with Luke gone,'' Ridnour said. ``It's going to be a big process for us.''
Washington State (5-12, 0-8) rallied to tie it at 51 on Chris Schlatter's jumper with 7:19 left. But Oregon scored the next 11 points, and the Cougars never regained the lead.
Thomas Kelati led Washington State with 18 points.
``Luke Ridnour answered the bell for them in the second half,'' Cougars coach Paul Graham said. ``Boy, he's really good.''
The Cougars took a 7-0 lead, but Oregon chipped away, going up 12-10 on Ian Crosswhite's 3-pointer. Ridnour put the Ducks ahead 19-14 with a steal and fast-break layup.
The Cougars kept up the pressure, tying the game at 21 on Justin Bellegarde's tip-in before going up 28-23 on Jerry McNair's 3-pointer.
Jackson was hurt in Thursday night's 91-66 victory over Washington, when he seriously cut his right ring finger after apparently catching it on another player's jersey.
Jackson, who had about a dozen stitches, sat on the Oregon bench Saturday night wearing his team warmups with his hand generously taped.
``It was weird not having him out there,'' said Andre Joseph, who started in Jackson's place. ``It took a half to adjust.''
Jackson, a left-handed shooter, will have his injury re-evaluated next week, and his status for games at UCLA and Southern California remained uncertain but doubtful.
A 6-foot-7 junior, Jackson was averaging 17.1 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.1 assists for the Ducks.
``It's obvious we missed Luke Jackson out there,'' Kent said. ``But it was good to get one game under our belt before we go on the road without him.''
The Cougars, meanwhile, are in far worse shape injury-wise.
Marcus Moore, the Cougars' leading scorer and rebounder, announced earlier in the week that he would have surgery for bone spurs and bone chips in his right ankle and probably would miss the rest of the season.
Moore, averaging 19.3 points and 5.9 rebounds, also missed Washington State's 63-48 loss to Oregon State on Thursday.
Forward Milton Riley also was out this week after he reaggravated a back fracture he first sustained on Jan. 2 against Southern California. Fellow forward Shami Gill couldn't play because of an injured left leg.
Updated on Sunday, Jan 26, 2003 12:11 am, EST
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