EUGENE, Ore. – OK, that will do with the jokes about the Oregon Ducks quacking up every time the hit the basketball court.
Players embraced and fans stormed the McArthur Court floor Saturday night after Oregon rolled over Stanford 68-60, ending a 14-game Pac-10 losing streak.
Michael Dunigan scored 14 points and Matt Humphrey scored nine in the final eight minutes to help Oregon win for the first time in 2009 and avoid becoming only the second team since the Pac-10 went to an 18-game schedule in 1978-79 to go 0-15.
“It was like we won the national championship,” Humphrey said of the postgame celebration. “It’s about time we got a win. They’ve been here all year rooting us on, even in the midst of our record, so we appreciate these fans.”
Humphrey, a freshman forward, gave the Ducks (7-20, 1-14) the lead for good with a 3-pointer from the right corner at the 2:15 mark to make it 59-56.
Stanford’s Lawrence Hill hit a long jumper with his foot on the 3-point line to make it a one-point game with 1:42 to play, but Kamyron Brown answered with another 3-pointer for Oregon with 1:06 remaining for a 62-58 advantage.
After free throws by Stanford’s Anthony Goods made it 62-60 with 57.8 seconds left, the Ducks outscored the Cardinal 6-0 the rest of the way, including a steal followed by layup and free throw from Humphrey with 6.5 seconds remaining.
“I’m excited right now. I can’t even express the emotions I’m feeling right now,” said junior guard Tajuan Porter, an important piece of the Ducks’ NCAA Tournament appearances the last two seasons, including their run to the Elite Eight in 2007.
Those seasons seemed like distant memories once the losses started piling up for Oregon, which hadn’t won since beating Long Beach State on Dec. 29. The closest the Ducks had come to a victory since then was a three-point loss to Oregon State on Jan. 31.
“We grew tonight as a team, we made plays we haven’t been making,” said Joevan Catron, who scored 10 points for Oregon. “Those were some of the worst eight weeks of my life, and to fight through it just shows what this team has and the fight we’re going to have down the line.”
The Ducks led 29-28 at the break their first halftime lead in seven games but fell behind 48-43 following an 11-3 run by Stanford midway through the second half.
Humphrey tied it for Oregon with a 3-pointer at the 8:09 mark that made it 50-50, and the game essentially remained tied until Humphrey’s 3 with just over two minutes left.
“He stepped up and played an excellent game,” Oregon coach Ernie Kent said. “His steal at the end was huge.”
LeKendric Longmire also scored 11 for the Ducks.
Landry Fields scored 19, Hill added 18 and Goods scored 16 for Stanford (15-10, 4-10), which has lost 7-of-9 games since beating Oregon 77-55 on Jan. 22.
“These guys have been through a lot, and I’m so thrilled that they can feel this and taste this right now,” Kent said. “It is just one win and we understand that. Now let’s get No. 2.”
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