Feb. 25, 2005

Box Score |  Quotes

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) - Bryce Taylor scored 15 points and Aaron Brooks broke a late tie with a pair of free throws to lift Oregon to a 63-58 on Thursday.

Brooks, who finished with nine points, went to the line with 1:14 remaining and calmly converted his two attempts to put the Ducks ahead 58-56.

Martin Smith clanked a 3-point attempt off the front of the rim on the Golden Bears' next trip down the court. Teammate Dominic McGuire grabbed the rebound, but traveled on his way to the basket.

Oregon (13-11 overall, 5-10 Pacific-10 Conference) tacked on five more points from the free-throw line in the final half-minute to secure the victory.

The win kept alive the Ducks' chances of making the Pac-10 tournament, as they moved into a three-way tie for seventh place in league with the Golden Bears (12-13, 5-10) and Washington State.

The conference tournament only takes the top eight teams.

Maarty Leunen added 12 points for Oregon, which had lost eight of nine. Richard Midgley paced California with 13 points. It was his steal and assist that led to the game-tying dunk by Marquis Kately at the 2:50 mark, capping a 13-3 run by the Bears after Oregon had taken a 53-43 lead with 8:39 to play.

But after each team failed to score on their ensuing possession, Brooks was sent to the free-throw line after drawing a foul from David Paris.

Taylor was instrumental in snapping the Ducks offense out of their early game funk, scoring eight points in a 12-0 Oregon run that gave the Ducks a 25-17 lead with 4:36 left before halftime.

Oregon led 32-24 at the break.