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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- Now that Oregon has beaten a pesky
opponent and a big batch of butterflies for its first NCAA
Tournament victory since 1960, the ascendant Ducks think they can
go anywhere.
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Ernie Kent's team struggled early, but it ended up being too much of the two Lukes, Ridnour and Jackson, as well as Frederick Jones. The terrific trio combined for 28 of Oregon's 34 first-half points. And in the end, the Ducks simply wore down Montana, the Big Sky Conference tournament champion. Oregon against Wake Forest in the next round should be an interesting matchup. Can the Ducks handle Darius Songaila inside and will Wake get another strong performance from Craig Dawson and Broderick Hicks? And can Wake slow down the two Lukes and bring joy to the ACC by beating the Pac-10 regular-season champ?
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Luke Ridnour and Luke Jackson scored 18 points apiece as
second-seeded Oregon overcame a nervous start to beat Montana 81-62
on Thursday in the Midwest Regional.
Oregon, which didn't make the postseason last year, is shedding
the weight of years of mediocrity with each victory in its
resurgent season. Robert Johnson added 15 points and seven rebounds
for the Ducks (24-8), who advanced to face seventh-seeded Wake
Forest on Saturday.
"We had to calm these guys down a few times over the last
couple of days," Oregon coach Ernie Kent said. "This team was
really excited ... but hopefully this was one to get the
butterflies out, and we can come back strong."
Though Oregon had a remarkable regular season with several
gritty victories, the Ducks entered the tournament with no idea
what to expect. Many of the Ducks' key contributors -- including
junior-college transfer Johnson and sophomore stars Ridnour and
Jackson -- weren't around two seasons ago when the Ducks made their
only previous NCAA appearance under Kent.
The Pac-10 Conference champions weren't terribly impressive,
with streaky shooting and spells of indifferent defense that had
Kent shaking his head. But the Ducks pulled away from the
15th-seeded Grizzlies with two prolonged runs in the second half.
"We were all just really excited, but that's to be expected,"
Jackson said. "We might not have played as sharp as we'd like, but
we played hard defensively, and we stayed alive."
Frederick Jones, the Ducks' all-conference leading scorer, had
16 points while struggling with foul trouble. Jones took just seven
shots, but he punctuated the Ducks' victory with a high-flying dunk
with four seconds left.
Ryan Slider had 12 points for 15th-seeded Montana (16-15), which
earned its first NCAA trip since 1997 by unexpectedly winning the
Big Sky Conference tournament. Dan Trammel and Brent Cummings added
10 points apiece for the Grizzlies, who made 16 turnovers and shot
less than 38 percent.
"What a classy, great basketball team that is," Montana coach
Dave Holst said of the Ducks. "They can go far in this tournament
... but I think we showed them some things they can work on for the
next game."
The Grizzlies' fans and pep band had a great time at Arco,
taking particular pleasure in taunting Johnson for his poor
free-throw shooting, but their team simply couldn't stay with the
Ducks in a quest for the school's first tournament victory since
1975.
Oregon's years of struggles are slowly being erased by Kent, a
proud alumnus who has led the Ducks to two tournament berths in
three seasons. This winter, the Ducks claimed their first outright
conference title since 1939 -- the same year Oregon won the first
NCAA Tournament.
With Montana focusing on shutting down Oregon's standout
perimeter game, Johnson -- who does most of the Ducks' dirty work on
defense and the boards -- was their primary offensive target for
much of the game.
"I knew I needed to play big," Johnson said. "(The Montana
fans) were funny, but they weren't in my head. I was nervous in the
first half, but I shook it off and came out strong."
Montana trailed by just one point late in the first half before
Oregon made a 15-6 run. The Ducks' lead dropped to seven points
early in the second half, but they pulled away consistently for the
rest of the game. | 
