Oregon Rallies and Avoids Upset, 73-62

Forget Oregon State. During the past two seasons, it’s been Portland State that has provided Oregon with the toughest in-state competition.

Last season, Portland State upset the Ducks, 56-54, on a buzzer-beating three-point basket in Oregon’s home-opener.

On Saturday, the Vikings once again gave the Ducks all they could handle. But Oregon outscored Portland State, 40-21, in the final 14 minutes and overcame an eight-point deficit to survive the upset bid, 73-62, at Eugene, Ore.

Terik Brown scored 14 of his 23 points in the final eight minutes to lead Oregon’s comeback. His jump shot with 6:14 left in the second half gave the Ducks the lead for good. A.D. Smith added 11 points and 10 rebounds for Oregon.

“We felt a sense of urgency because of what happened last year,” Brown said. “It was a game we had to step up more, and we did in the final seven or eight minutes.”

The win at McArthur Court improved the Ducks to 4-1 and helped erase some of the humiliation of being the only Pacific 10 Conference team ever to lose to Portland State (5-2) of the Big Sky Conference.

Portland State’s Jason Hartman led the scoring with 34 points, making 11 of 21 field goals and six of 11 three-point shots. The senior forward scored 24 of his points in the second half, including 13 in the first five minutes to erase Oregon’s 30-27 halftime lead and put Portland State ahead, 41-33.

But a timeout with 14:36 left helped Oregon settle down, and the Ducks responded with their game-winning surge.

“When we called that timeout, we challenged the players and they stepped up, re-focused and got the job done,” Oregon Coach Ernie Kent said.