January 2, 1999

OAKLAND - Oregon freshman Frederick Jones tipped in a missed shot with 0.8 seconds left in overtime to lift the Ducks to a 71-69 victory over California in the Pac-10 opener for both schools Saturday at the Oakland Arena.

The Bears, who lost their first conference game of the year for the third straight season, fell to 9-2 overall, while Oregon improved to 9-1.

The Ducks led for almost the entire contest, going up by as many as 17 points at 28-11 midway through the first half. However, Cal battled back to get to 32-31 and trailed by just one point at intermission.

In the second half, Oregon moved back ahead by nine at 47-38 with 13:21 to go. Then, with the Ducks up, 54-48, the Bears went on a 9-0 run to grab their first lead since they were ahead 1-0 early in the contest. The go-ahead shot was a six-footer by Sean Lampley.

But Cal's 57-54 lead was short-lived. Oregon took a 63-60 on a Darius Wright three-pointer with 3:28 left. A pair of Thomas Kilgore free throws and another free throw by Lampley tied the score at 63 with 3:18 to go.

After Alex Scales hit a 10-foot jumper for a 65-63 Oregon lead, Kilgore's driving layup with 47 seconds left tied the score again and regulation ended with the score tied at 65.

In the extra frame, Oregon jumped out to a 67-66 lead before Carl Boyd's layup put Cal ahead, 68-67. However, with the score tied again at 69, Oregon got the ball with 37.8 seconds on the clock. The Ducks ran the shot clock down, and A.D Smith took a baseline jumper with 2 seconds to go. Jones then fought through a crowd for the winning tip-in.

The Bears called time out to set up a final play, but Geno Carlisle's 30-footer bounced off the rim as time expired.

POST GAME QUOTES

OREGON AT CALIFORNIA

January 2, 1998

California Head Coach Ben Braun

"It's a tough loss for us. The first thing that grabs me and I hope the first thing that grabs the attention of our players too is that you can't fall behind against teams in this league. Give Oregon credit. They kept battling. Don't take anything away from Oregon. They're a solid team"

"This was one of those days you talk about. It's one tough pill to swallow. We turned the ball over against not too tough pressure. Any time you play against good teams, the game itself is hard enough. You can't turn the ball over. And we had missed opportunities with our free throws, shooting only 23-38."

"In the first half, we were buried and it took a lot of energy to climb out. The game was played in too many streaks and that really hurt us. I hope we learn from this."

Oregon Head Coach Ernie Kent

"Win or lose, I've said all along this team was going to grow up and get better this trip and we've already gotten better."

"It was a fun college basketball game. The more you can get comfortable winning close games and winning the possession game in the last few minutes of the game, the better you are going to be. These guys did an outstanding job of keeping their composure under some tough calls."

"I don't know what the argument was about. Basically, A.D. Smith shoots it and misses it. Alex Scales and Frederick Jones tip it in and there are .8 seconds left to go in the game."