Golden Grizzlies Down Oregon Ducks

From ougrizzlies.com

On a night where it looked like Oakland was letting the game slip away, junior Johnathon Jones refused to let that happen, especially when he committed a foul with six seconds left in regulation to send Oregon's Tajuan Porter to the line for three shots, which he made to tie the game at 68-68. All Jones did is score 10 of his career-high 32 points in overtime to lead the Golden Grizzlies (1-1) past the Ducks (1-1) 82-79 (OT) on Monday night in McArthur Court.

"He can play anywhere in the country," said head coach Greg Kampe about Jones. "He proved it on a Pac-10 floor, and one of the hardest places to play in the country. JJ was the best player on the court tonight."

Senior Erik Kangas scored 18 points, 10 in the first half, and drilled three free throws in the final minute to give OU a 66-65 lead with just 33 seconds on the clock. After a miss by the Ducks, freshman Blake Cushingberry grabbed the rebound and was fouled. He then made both free throws to push the lead to three.

After the Ducks' Porter made his free throws to tie the game, Cushingberry had one last shot to end the game from the top of the key, a couple of feet behind the three-point line, but his shot sailed wide and the game went in to overtime.

Jones then took over once again. After Kangas made an old fashioned three-point play, Jones scored 10 of the next 11 points, including a fade-away from the corner with two seconds left to extend the lead to three points and give the Grizzlies their second straight win over Oregon.

With the win, the Golden Grizzlies snap a 16-game non-conference home winning streak for the Ducks.

"We had to learn how to win," said Kampe. "When Derick (Nelson) got hurt, we became a young team. We had two freshmen, three freshmen, four freshmen on the floor at one time, and they have to learn how to win. This is going to go a long way to make us a good team."

Redshirt sophomore Keith Benson fouled out of the game with 10 points and eight rebounds, coming close to his second straight double-double. Cushingberry ended the game with nine points and five rebounds.

Oregon's LeKendric Longmire poured in 18 points in the first half, but the Grizzlies kept him scoreless in the second half and overtime. Joevan Catron had a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds, along with Michael Dunigan's 15 points and 10 boards.

The Golden Grizzlies will return home for a couple of days before beginning a 13-day road trip. Oakland will face Syracuse on Friday night in the Carrier Dome. Tip is slated for 7 p.m. ET and can be heard on OU's flagship station WDTW (1310 AM) with Mario Impemba on the call.