March 11, 2004

Box Score | Notes

By JOHN NADEL
AP Sports Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Luke Jackson had 19 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, and freshman Aaron Brooks scored five straight points down the stretch Thursday as Oregon beat California 87-82 in the first round of the Pac-10 tournament.

Andre Joseph and James Davis added 19 points each for the Ducks (15-11), who will face top-seeded Stanford in Friday night's semifinals at Staples Center. The second-ranked Cardinal (27-1) beat Washington State 68-47 in Thursday's opener.

The Ducks are seeded fifth - just like last year when they won the tournament. They have won three straight games after losing four in a row.

Amit Tamir scored a season-high 24 points and Leon Powe added 20 points and nine rebounds for fourth-seeded California (13-15), which finished its season by losing three straight games and six of eight.

Jackson made two free throws with 2:46 remaining to give Oregon a 77-76 lead, and they were on top the rest of the way.

Powe was called for traveling befofe Brooks made a 3-pointer with the shot clock running down for only his second field goal of the game, giving the Ducks a four-point lead with 1:54 to play.

The teams exchanged misses before the Golden Bears committed a turnover with 49 seconds to go. Brooks made two free throws four seconds later to give the Ducks an 82-76 lead.

A dunk by Powe with 7.9 points seconds remaining made it 85-82. Oregon's Ian Crosswhite made two free throws to clinch the victory.

Richard Midgley scored four straight points early in the second half to give the Bears a 45-44 lead - their first of the game.

Davis made a 3-pointer and a layup off a pass from Jackson to trigger a 10-3 spurt that put the Ducks on top 63-56, equaling the largest lead for either team.

But Cal battled back, with A.J. Diggs scoring five points during an 11-2 run that gave the Bears a 67-65 lead with 7:43 left.

Neither team led by more than three points after that until the Ducks scored seven straight to take command.

Jackson joined former Arizona star Sean Elliott as the only players in Pac-10 history with 1,800 points, 700 rebounds and 400 assists by getting two assists in the opening five minutes.

Jackson made a 3-pointer to give Oregon a 14-7 lead before Davis scored 14 of his team's next 15 points on a basket and four 3-pointers.

But Tamir kept the Bears in the game by scoring 19 points in the first half, which ended with Oregon on top 42-40. Tamir's previous season-high was 21 points. His career high is 39.

Jackson, a senior, scored in double figures for the 34th straight time and the 92nd in 121 career games. He is Oregon's third-leading scorer with 1,873 points.