Jan. 13, 2000

Box Score

Junior forward Sean Lampley scored a career-best 29 points, but California dropped its third straight decision with an 83-68 loss to Oregon Thursday night at McArthur Court.

Cal, which fell to 9-6 overall, tied season high with 21 turnovers and shot just 33.3 percent from the floor in the second half. Oregon won for the eighth time its last nine games to improve to 11-2 and 2-0.

Cal sophomore guard Dennis Gates also suffered a sprained right knee late in the contest and he is very doubtful for Saturday's game at Oregon State.

The Bears fell behind early in the game, but kept the deficit under seven points most of the first half. Oregon did forge a 38-27 lead with 2:53 to go when Cal trimmed the score to 40-35 in the final minute. The Bears had the ball and were holding it for a final shot. However, Nick Vander Laan was called for an offensive foul and the Ducks' Darius Wright hit two free throws for a 42-35 Oregon lead at the break.

In the second half, the Ducks quickly made it 54-40 on a three-pointer by Frederick Jones, and Cal never got within double digits again.

In addition to Lampley, Brian Wethers finished with 12 points and Solomon Hughes added 10. Lampley's previous best was 28 points against Fresno State in the first round of the 1999 NIT.

Jones paced Oregon with 20 points, with Alex Scales adding 15 and A.D. Smith and Bryan Bracey 12 each.

"We need to make a bigger commitment to defense," Cal head coach Ben Braun said. "We allowed too many easy buckets today. Oregon is an awfully difficult team to play catch-up against because of their seniors and experience."